Summer of Frost
by SilverEyeShinobi
Summary: Summer is a dull time for Jack Frost. He really can't do much other than wait for it to be over. However, this year, he plans to spend it helping his fellow Guardians with their jobs, primarily Tooth's job. FairyFrost. (Continuation of Work, Not Play, but it's a standalone)
1. Chapter 1: As Summer Takes Shape

**A/N: I... got enough people yelling at me to continue on from my oneshot **_**Work, Not Play**_**... I...honestly didn't expect that much positive feedback XD But uh... yeah... Someone made a point saying that my oneshot laid the ground out for a story, so hey... Let's just think of that oneshot as the roots, not seen unless someone wants to dig it up, but above it is a fully fledged tree (this story XD) Basically, you don't have to go read my oneshot (you can if you want...I won't stop you XD) but this story in a way picks up from there, yet at the same time it's as if it never happened.**

**OKAY! Well, that's that then... Hope you enjoy the story :)**

**~Silver**

**P.S. I know I told some people that I'd start posting this story on Saturday... Luckily for you, I arrived at Chapter 10 today, and well... I saw no reason to wait until Saturday, so you get the first chapter now, and then an update when Saturday comes! **

**Enjoy the story! :D**

Summer of Frost

Summary: Summer is a dull time for Jack Frost. He really can't do much other than wait for it to be over. However, this year, he plans to spend it helping his fellow Guardians with their jobs, primarily Tooth's job. FairyFrost. (Continuation of _Work, Not Play_, but it's a standalone)

Chapter 1: As Summer Takes Shape

Jack Frost and plants just didn't seem to mix. Maybe in his past life he was a decent gardener. Who knows, maybe he was a farmer and that was why he, for some strange reason, knew so much about plants. He liked flowers and grass and trees, but it seemed that whenever he made contact with them, they wilted and died.

Not Bunnymund's flowers though. Most of them at least. Jack knew they were enchanted. After all, Bunny's eggs came out of them like giant seeds. Jack didn't know how he knew so much about plants, but he was certain that no flower produced eggs instead of seeds. Not even just plain old eggs. No, they were eggs with _feet_ and they hid _themselves_ most of the time. No Easter Bunny required.

"Jack! Prop up that bell flower!" Bunny called. "It's drooping!"

Jack slid his gloves onto his hand. They weren't to protect him from the flowers, they were to protect the flowers from him. Just in case. After all, if he so much as sneezed, bye bye flower.

Jack held his breath while he propped the flower up on a stick, allowing it to spread its petals in the underground sunlight. How about that. The Warren really was an interesting place.

Jack stood up and turned around, yelping in surprise at the sight of Bunnymund hovering over his shoulder. Bunny's ears twitched and he didn't say anything as he held up a watering can.

"Thanks..." Jack said, taking the can in his gloved hands.

It wasn't the first time Jack had been helping Bunnymund with his gardens. In fact, he'd been helping for the last week. Bunny didn't mind the help most of the time, and it kept Jack out of mischief. As the white haired boy watered the plants, making sure to keep his stocking covered feet far away from the falling liquid, Jack couldn't help but flash back to the days before he became a Guardian. Summer's had been nothing but torture for him. He usually stayed in Antarctica, alone and without any company other than the penguins. He usually went sledding with them, sliding down embankments and flying over the water. The creatures didn't care. Jack didn't think they could even see him. Either way, they'd been good company for about three hundred years. Now that Jack had real friends, he could never go back to living with penguins for the summer.

As Jack went to refill the watering can, his elbow brushed up against a large calla lily, a pretty white flower that looked almost trumpet-like. Jack could only watch in horror as frost crept across the dazzling plant and froze it solid. It was as if Bunnymund was somehow connected to all of his flowers. He burst from a hole beside Jack almost immediately, startling the boy so much, he fell over into a rose bush. As the thorns scratched him up, the plant froze and wilted, dropping dark red petals across Jack's struggling form.

Bunnymund's nose twitched in irritation as Jack stood up, picking a broken branch out of his white hair.

"S-Sorry... I didn't mean to..." Jack stated.

Bunnymund didn't say a word, stamping his foot and creating a hole in the ground. He pointed at it, telling Jack to go.

"Can I get my staff?"

Bunnymund was already carrying it. He handed it over and Jack took it back.

"Sorry again, Bunny." Jack said honestly.

"They'll grow back, mate." Bunnymund merely said. "But I can't lose anymore."

Jack nodded and jumped into the hole. The ride wasn't as fun as it normally was. That was probably due to the knowledge that he'd just been kicked out of another job.

Jack was tossed into a pile of snow as he left the hole. Back in Antarctica. He sighed heavily, closing his eyes. Bunnymund was the second one to kick him out of a job. He'd worked with North in his shop for a few days, but Jack had a really bad habit of making toys that were quite fun, but extremely dangerous. North decided he couldn't be trusted when it came to making toys.

Jack stayed at the North Pole for a few days, eventually realizing there wasn't anything there for him anymore, so he decided to visit Bunnymund instead. He'd allowed Jack to help him look after the egg producing flowers as long as he didn't kill any of the other flowers. Jack had avoided doing so for a week, but now... Yeah, he was banished from the Warren now too.

Jack considered Sandy, but he knew that no matter how hard he tried, he could never help the Sandman. He didn't have power over dreams. No, the most he could do was breathe cold air down people's necks and make it impossible for them to sleep. So that option was out of the question.

But...what about Tooth? Jack sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair. Would she let Jack help her? Or would he just mess that up too? Jack ran his fingers over the rough wood of his staff. He knew that for some reason he always found a way to distract her mini fairies. Not to mention he wasn't too keen on having Tooth's fingers in his mouth as she checked out his teeth again.

Jack buzzed his lips and stood up, swatting at the snow with his staff.

"What the heck." He murmured to himself. He leapt into the air and flew into the sky. He really had nothing to lose other than his boredom. And Jack would much rather have Tooth ogling his teeth than having to sit in Antarctica with a bunch of penguins again.

...

"Ryan, check... Mason, check... Sarah, check..." Tooth's bright eyes found every mini fairy that came back with a tooth. The tiny voices reached into her mind, telling her which child the tooth was from. She checked off the names as they came back. Many years with a clipboard had made her quite good at finding names as fairies rushed in and out of the palace.

Then, one began twittering in excitement.

Tooth frowned in curiosity, seeing the jovial mini fairy causing three or four others to start doing flips. And suddenly, the entire palace was filled with excited twittering.

"Fairies! Back to work!" Tooth called, tapping her pen on the clipboard. "We still have lots of teeth to collect before-"

"Is this a bad time?"

Tooth's stern exterior dissolved at the sound of the voice. She should've known...

The fairy turned around, her shiny teeth grinning towards a boy with windswept white hair. His bright blue eyes met hers, making her heart stutter for a moment.

"I can just come back later..." Jack stated, running a hand through his hair. Tooth heard the collective sigh of all of her mini fairies in the room as Jack's fluffy hair bounced back into place.

"Back to work!" Tooth called out sternly to her fairies.

Jack's blue eyes followed clouds of fairies around the room. Tooth wasn't sure what he was thinking as his expression was distant and very un-Jack Frost-like.

"What do you need, Jack?" Tooth asked, handing her clipboard off to a group of mini fairies.

Jack shrugged, sticking one of his hands in his hoodie pocket.

Tooth raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind." Jack said quickly, brushing it off. "Stupid idea. You're too busy anyway..." He turned to leave.

Tooth whizzed towards Jack, swooping around to hover in front of him. His blue eyes widened slightly, startled by her sudden movement.

"Jack?" She said expectantly.

Jack sighed, glancing away. "Well, I have nothing to do."

Tooth's mouth fell open. The Spirit of Winter? Bored? The mere thought was blasphemy! Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun, was _bored._

"It's summer." Jack stated, running a hand through his hair. "So I can't really do anything."

"What have you been doing until now?" Tooth asked, knowing summer had only been in full swing for a few weeks now. And that didn't even cover the many countless years he'd been walking the earth.

"Helping Bunny with his garden." Jack stated, leaning against the wall. "I tried to help North with his toys, but apparently my idea of fun is 'too dangerous for children'." He altered his voice to make it sound deeper and sarcastic. It was a half assed attempt at impersonating North, and for some reason, Tooth found it endearing.

"And now you're here why?" Tooth asked.

"I'll understand if you say no, but I was going to ask if I could help you collect teeth or something." Jack said.

Mini fairies around the room began chortling at those words. Tooth could hear them arguing about who would be teaming up with Jack on the next run. He'd need training after all... Tooth shook her head quickly, ridding her fairies thoughts from her head.

Jack took notice.

"Yeah, I expected as much." He sighed, sounding disappointed.

"No, no! I didn't mean..." Tooth planted a grin on her face. "Sure you can help!" She said.

Jack looked up hopefully. "Really?"

Tooth nodded. "We could use an extra pair of hands around here... So yes, yes you can help!"

Jack looked around at all of the mini fairies, a mischievous glint in his eyes; the same one that appeared mere seconds before Jack Frost would make a witty comment.

"I don't know about extra hands, but it seems like you have more than enough already." He said, watching several of them start bickering. "Almost seems like you have too many actually."

Tooth shook her head. "We could always use more..." She stated.

"I'm sure it would be easier to just create more mini fairies."

"Jack Frost, how can I turn down a friend when he actually wants to take something seriously for once?"

Jack's eyes sparkled brightly as a grin stretched across his features. The mini fairies sighed, around thirty or forty of them converging into a giant heart. Jack saw it and quickly glanced away, his cheeks turning blue. Tooth giggled.

"So..." Jack said sheepishly, scratching the top of his head. He stopped the second he saw the heart collapse as half of the fairies fainted. Tooth nearly laughed as Jack's face turned even bluer. She wasn't quite sure whether that was his way of blushing, or he felt kind of sick. Either way, it was cute.

Then she remembered that the fairies weren't working.

"Back to work!" Tooth called out again.

The mini fairies that had fainted gained new life and flew into the air, squeaking happily as they flew out of the palace again.

Tooth smiled at Jack as his face slowly began to regain its natural pale colour. "I'm not sure what you can do yet, it's kind of sudden, you know."

Jack nodded. "I understand."

"But I think maybe you could refill the coin dispensers...no wait, can you make coins? Oh this is so hard..."

Jack smiled. "Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."

Tooth smiled. "In that case, come with me!"

...

Jack followed Tooth through the palace, his staff propped up on his shoulder. He tried to ignore the mini fairies who were occasionally cooing in his direction. They were one of the reasons Jack had been hesitant to come to Tooth's palace. He wasn't sure what it was, but somehow they always found a way to make him feel... awkward.

"So you were helping Bunny with his garden?" Tooth asked.

"Yeah. I accidently froze a few of the flowers." Jack said sheepishly. "So he kicked me out."

Tooth sighed. "Well he does work hard on his flowers..."

"I guess if I froze half of your fairies, I suppose that would be the same thing."

_Except for one thing,_ Jack thought. _The fairies would probably _like_ it._

"Maybe if you froze most of the teeth, yes. But even then, they'll thaw."

"So basically this is the sort of thing I probably wouldn't be able to mess up." He fought the urge to run his fingers across the ornately painted walls. That would just create a lot of frost which would later melt into water creating a slip hazard... Not that it mattered to the always flying fairies.

"I wouldn't say you couldn't mess it up." Tooth said. "It just means that your power won't be able to mess it up."

"Well that's a confidence booster." Jack muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Tooth went silent, buzzing ahead as she contemplated what Jack's first job should be.

"Okay!" She said, clapping her hands. "I'm going to start you on coin duty, okay?"

"Coin duty?"

Tooth nodded and grabbed onto his baggy sleeve, dragging him through the palace. The sight of this drove most of the mini fairies into a frenzy, and they suddenly wanted in on the drag-Jack-Frost-across-the-floor game. He ended up hovering several inches off the ground, struggling to breathe as the stitches of his hoodie protested against his weight.

Jack grabbed the front of his hoodie, pulling it away from his throat. "Tooth, get them to put me down! I can't-" he choked as several more mini fairies started pulling him into the air.

Tooth's eyes widened, as if she'd just realized what her fairies were doing. Instantly, they dropped him without warning. Jack hit the ground hard, the wind rushing out of his chest as he smacked his face off the floor. His cheek throbbed as he groaned in displeasure.

"Are you okay, Jack?" Tooth asked. "Are you hurt?"

"Feels like I just got dropped onto a marble floor, but other than that, I'm fine..." Jack muttered.

Tooth helped him stand up, her jaw dropping at the sight of the small bruise forming on Jack's pale cheekbone.

"I'm so sorry..." She whispered, gently touching it.

Jack winced, flinching away from her hand as pain flared through his cheek. "It's fine. It'll go away."

Tooth looked up at the mini fairies, all of which were emitting high pitched keening sounds that sounded strangely like crying.

"Back to work, fairies!" Tooth called out.

The mini fairies went back into action immediately, but their heads were low and they were still squeaking with unhappiness.

"Sorry, I..." Jack sighed. "Maybe I should go."

The mini fairies nearby froze with a sharp squeak, their tiny eyes wide with horror. Jack ignored them as Tooth looked at him with curiosity.

"Why?" She asked.

"I'm always distracting the fairies." He said, reaching up to touch his cheek. He winced again, Tooth watching him with concern.

"They like you, Jack." Tooth stated casually, as if it wasn't a big deal at all.

"No, I couldn't tell." Jack said sarcastically.

Tooth's feathers ruffled in irritation. Then she sighed flew towards Jack to softly touch his shoulder. He sighed heavily.

"Jack, please smile."

Jack looked up at Tooth. "Why?" He asked.

Tooth's face turned slightly pink. "Well...you look good when you smile." She simply said. "It makes me feel sad when you look so glum. So...smile!" She pushed the corners of his mouth upwards, making Jack snort and pull his head away. He flashed her a cheeky grin, and Tooth smiled back brightly.

"There's Jack!" She said. "Now come on, I'll show you the coin dispenser."


	2. Chapter 2: Tooth Collecting

Summer of Frost

Chapter 2: Tooth Collecting

Jack flipped a coin towards a mini fairy. She made a squealing noise before flitting off with it. Tooth watched with a smile on her face as gold and silver coins flipped towards her little fairies. From time to time, she'd have to shoot one of them a look as they tried to pocket the trinket for the sole reason that Jack Frost touched it first.

Tooth figured their obsession was understandable. Even Tooth had to admit that Jack was a really wonderful person. She could see it as he allowed several of the mini fairies to land in his hand. He even stroked their feathers a few times before letting them fly off. It was touching, and Tooth could feel the happiness and wonder radiating off her little allies. For a moment, she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like if Jack touched her feathers...

The thought was banished the second it came. No! She was a Guardian! She would not, could not engage in such silly fantasies! After all, Jack was a Guardian too. Neither of them could afford to entertain such thoughts.

He turned his head, his bright blue eyes meeting hers. He grinned toothily and waved, his teeth just as white as his hair. Tooth fought down a blush, smiling to herself.

A faint keening sound reached her ears, making Tooth turn. Two mini fairies fluttered in carrying a third. Tooth felt her blood run cold. She flew straight to the fairies, holding out her cupped hands.

"What happened?" Tooth asked as her fairies dropped the injured one into her hands. They instantly began chattering and squeaking, explaining what happened.

Jack took notice. He stared up at them with concerned blue eyes.

"What happened?" He asked when Tooth flew down. The little fairy in her hand was trembling, and one of its wings looked like it had been snapped in half.

"Cat." Tooth said sadly.

"Animals can see them?" Jack asked.

"Sometimes." Tooth sighed. "When they do, this happens..."

"I'm so sorry..." Jack said. "How can I help?"

Fairies began to squeak instantly. Tooth glared at them when she heard their thoughts. They were _not_ under _any_ circumstances going to deliberately get themselves injured just so they could get Jack's attention.

"There isn't." Tooth said. "She'll just need time to let her wings heal. Until then, someone else will have to take her place."

"I'll do it." Jack said without hesitating.

"H-Huh?"

"I'll collect teeth."

"Jack you..." Tooth felt her eyes blurring slightly. "You would do that?"

Jack nodded. "Yes."

Tooth smiled. "All right. Let me get this little one tucked in and resting and we'll go together."

Mini fairies chattered their jealousy for a moment, but Tooth ignored them. They went back to work moments later, feeling sulky.

...

Jack waited for Tooth, tapping his foot on the ground. She hadn't let him go into the room where she was looking after the injured mini fairy. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't complain.

Several mini fairies rushed him, twittering madly.

"Hello." Jack said to them. "How are you today?"

One of them made a faint squealing sound and dropped like a stone. On instinct, Jack's hand shot out and caught it before it could hit the ground. Suddenly, the remaining fairies stopped flapping and fell. Jack barely managed to catch them, the last one he nabbed with his foot.

"Hey, don't do that." Jack said, picking the last one off his foot. "I almost didn't catch you guys."

The mini fairies twittered. One of them shuddered as Jack's frost began creeping across her feathers.

"You'd best be going." Jack said, setting the lot of them on the ground before the rest of them started freezing as well.

The half frozen fairy sighed happily, needing to be hoisted into the air by her two friends. They squeaked a goodbye and disappeared.

"Sheesh..." Jack whispered. "It never ends..." He liked those little fairies, that he couldn't deny. They were cute, fluffy and the way they moved fascinated him. Although, the little fairies paled in comparison to Tooth herself. If the mini fairies were cute, then Tooth was beautiful. He'd never say that out loud, however. That was his secret. He wasn't attracted to Tooth, no way in hell, but he couldn't deny what she was.

The door finally snapped open and Tooth walked out, her face splitting into a smile at the sight of him.

"How's the fairy?" Jack asked.

"She'll be all right. Shall we get going?"

Jack nodded. "Tell me what I need to do."

"I'll tell you on the way," Tooth said, whizzing down the hall. Jack had to run to keep up with her.

"We'll have to go back and forth, Jack." Tooth said. "Pick up a tooth, come back, put it away and go back out..."

"Isn't that a little inefficient?" Jack questioned.

"Yes, but we can't let the teeth become disorganized." She shuddered, as if the mere thought of a tooth being misplaced was horrifying to her. Then again, Jack figured that putting another child's tooth, which contained their memories, into another box by mistake was in fact something very horrible. He had only seen the memories contained in one of his teeth, and that was something he really didn't want to share. Not even, it was something he never wanted to relive again. The cold, the feeling of being crushed...

Jack shuddered, violently shaking his head. No, no, no! He would not, could not under any circumstances relive that day. He already had, and he already wished he could un-see it. It was the reason he never wanted to sleep again. It haunted him, that day over three hundred years ago...

Jack shook his head again, focusing instead on Tooth's green blue and gold plumage. He watched the way the feathers fluttered in the wind as she flew and that took his mind off everything else.

Tooth tossed Jack a map when they stopped by the front desk. "Okay! Let's get moving!"

Jack nodded and grabbed a coin, flipping it in his hand before clenching it tightly in his fist. Tooth grabbed one of her own, and they flew off into the night.

...

Tooth watched as Jack burst out of a chimney, his normally white hair stained grey with soot. He choked violently and swatted at his chest.

"I have no idea how North does it, but I swear, I will never doubt him again." He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I hope the next house has their window open."

"It wouldn't make a difference," Tooth said. "There are screens, remember?"

Jack muttered something incoherent.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Tooth sighed. "Got the tooth?"

"Yep." Jack opened his hand, revealing a tooth with a cavity in it.

"Oh no!" Tooth cried. "Oh that's awful! The memories will be broken!"

"Cavities do that?" Jack asked.

Tooth turned the tooth over in her hands before handing it back for Jack to hold onto. "Must've been pulled because it was hurting the kid...Oh it's awful..."

"Well, shall we get back to the palace?"

Tooth nodded.

Jack waved his staff and they shot off into the night once more.

Back and forth they went. Jack and Tooth went all over the country, collecting teeth from shining molars to a tooth that was actually split in half from a hockey accident. Tooth hated seeing damaged teeth. Jack could tell quite easily. The mere sight of them broke her heart and made her cry, because she knew that no matter what she did, the memories contained inside the tooth would never be intact. They would be broken at best. Maybe a few pieces, but not much at all.

Jack popped out of another chimney to see Tooth staring down at a tooth in her hand. She was frowning, and Jack couldn't help but go over and see what was up. Jack saw nothing out of the ordinary, but Tooth held it up.

"See this, Jack? See where it's unnaturally white?" Tooth pointed to a spot in the tooth.

"Yep."

"That's from dentistry." She said. "What they don't understand is when they gouge a tooth to get rid of a cavity, it completely destroys the memory."

"So you're saying...?"

"This tooth no longer holds any memories." She sighed. "I hate dentists..."

"Well, they do look after teeth."

"That's what they say." Tooth muttered. "But now with all of these chemicals and solvents people are putting in their mouths..." She sighed. "The teeth are suffering, Jack."

"I would think they're doing better. They don't rot as much, right?"

Tooth sighed. "Jack, your teeth were in really good condition considering your time period."

Jack flinched slightly. Being reminded of his teeth again wasn't fun.

"Sorry..." Tooth sighed. "Let's go back, okay?"

Jack nodded and they once again rushed back to the palace.

...

Jack didn't stop working. Eventually, he ended up going out alone without anyone to help. All he had was a map and a coin.

Tooth always waited for Jack's return. He would hand the tooth off to her for her to catalogue, and then Jack would head straight back out again with a new coin. He had a map in hand, so Tooth knew he wouldn't get lost.

When Jack rushed in again, his blue eyes tired, but the grin still planted firmly on his face, Tooth's heart went out to him. He was doing so much for her, asking for nothing in return. He looked like he was having fun doing it.

They'd collected more teeth than Tooth could count in twenty four hours. Her library grew by several hundred children as new ones began losing teeth. Some cases had to be closed as the child lost their last tooth.

And Jack kept working.

When he came back again, he handed the tooth over and leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

"Are you that tired, Jack?" Tooth asked after handing the tooth to a mini fairy.

Jack forcefully exhaled. "Tired? I don't know, I can't remember what it feels like to be tired actually."

"You're out of breath. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Jack stood up straight. "I'll get back to work."

Tooth grabbed him by his wrist, making the winter spirit stop in his tracks.

"Jack, even the mini fairies need to take breaks." Tooth stated, getting really nervous about how clammy his skin was.

"Hah," Jack wiped the sweat off his dirty forehead. He was still covered in soot. "Well, I feel fine."

"Jack Frost, the spirit of winter should _not_ be sweating."

"I'm sweating?" Jack looked down at his wet sleeve. "Jeez... It's warmer out than I thought..." Then he stumbled slightly, his hand snapping to the wall as he regained his balance.

"Jack?!" Tooth put a hand on his trembling shoulder. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." Jack gasped. "Just got dizzy."

"I'm taking you to a room." Tooth stated, guiding him across the floor towards the hallways. Jack stumbled a few times, but other than that, he was okay. His eyes were distant and tired, but he still seemed motivated to keep going. Tooth smiled to herself. What a trooper.

Tooth helped Jack up the stairs towards the coldest room in the palace; at the top of the tallest spire where the wind passed straight through the structure if the windows were opened.

Tooth pushed Jack towards the bed where he flopped down immediately. Tooth shoved the windows open and the cold wind rushed through. Jack sighed in relief, rolling over so he was laying eagle spread on the bed.

Tooth fluttered over to him, a smile on her face.

"Are you going to be all right, Jack?" She asked.

Jack gave no response other than to let out a soft snore, signalling that he'd already fallen asleep. Tooth giggled and hovered over him, observing his peaceful face as he slept. She gently brushed a lock of grey tinged hair into place and smiled down at him.

"Sleep well, Jack." She whispered.

Jack's only response was to mumble something in his sleep and roll over, his fingers curling around his staff which he hadn't let go, even in his exhausted state. Once again, Tooth ran her fingers through his hair, smiling at how soft it was, even though it was dirty from the soot. After a moment, she snapped into attention, remembering where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. Though it pained her slightly to do so, Tooth spun around and headed down the stairs to where her mini fairies were still hard at work.

They tweeted at her, asking where Jack went. Tooth told them that he was done for the day and wouldn't be back until tomorrow, if he was strong enough to collect teeth again. The fairies that were going off shift immediately began scouring the castle for the winter spirit, but Tooth didn't bother stopping them. They'd have a hard time getting through the 'hurricane room' as she so lovingly called it. She could fly through it, but just barely. Her mini fairies didn't have a hope to getting to Jack, although the world sometimes surprised her.


	3. Chapter 3: A Day with the Minis

**A/N: I know, I said no updates until Saturday, but oh well. You get one early XD**

**Anyway, hopes you enjoy! :D**

Summer of Frost

Chapter 3: A Day with the Minis

_JACK!_

_And the world dropped from beneath him..._

Jack gasped and snapped his eyes open. It took him a moment to remember where he was. He sighed, remembering he was just at Tooth's palace. He sighed softly and sat up, pressing a cold hand to his forehead. That was the reason he didn't sleep. That nightmare always replayed, over and over and over again whenever he did. And when it was over, he was left with nothing but guilt. Because when he'd fallen through that ice, he'd left behind his sister. His family. His friends, if he even had any.

They all went on with life, thinking he'd died in that lake. And Jack would've bet they'd never found his body. He never got the chance to see, because he'd left as the snow melted. They probably tried to fish him out when the water warmed.

Jack shook himself, slapping his cheeks to wake himself up and give himself something else to think about. There was no sense in worrying about the past. There really wasn't.

Jack stood up, heading to the door of his room. He pushed it open and started down a long spiral staircase. Had Tooth half carried him up last night? He'd have to thank her later. She shouldn't have had to.

The mini fairies were already working when Jack stepped into the main hall. Most of them stopped at the sight of him, several of them whipping towards him long enough to nip at his cheek or play with his hair before flying off again. Jack meanwhile, went looking for Tooth, ignoring the sharp, urgent tugs on his hoodie. He yelped as he felt one fall down the back of it. The fairies who had seen it started squeaking with laughter as Jack did a dance, trying to get the wriggling fairy out of his hoodie.

"What are you doing, Jack?" Tooth asked, fluttering down.

"Fairy down my hoodie..." Jack grunted, sticking his arm up the back of his shirt, trying to grab the little creature. He accidently stabbed his hand on the mini fairy's beak, making him wince in pain. The fairy, realizing she'd hurt Jack, jumped on his hand immediately and allowed herself to be removed. Her feathers were rumpled, and her eyes were filled with tears of apology.

"It's all right." Jack said, running a finger down her back. She shivered, her wings fluttering involuntarily as Jack smoothed her feathers out. She curled up into a ball in the palm of his hand, looking so comfortable and secure that Jack didn't want to disturb her.

Tooth however, did. She flew over Jack's hand and picked the fairy up. The tiny creatures looked mournfully at Jack before Tooth let her go in mid air, forcing her to fly again. She tweeted quickly before whizzing off.

"How are you feeling, Jack?" Tooth asked.

"Like I've just woke up." Jack replied. "But other than that, I'm feeling okay."

"That's good. You were pretty tired yesterday, you know."

Jack nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for taking me up the stairs, by the way."

"Don't worry about it."

Jack sniffed and glanced at the fairies flying around the room. "So am I able to work again today?"

"I would prefer if you'd rest for a little longer." Tooth said honestly. "I don't want you passing out again."

"I didn't pass out!" Jack protested.

"You did as soon as you flopped down on that bed."

Jack sighed, realizing it was true. He couldn't remember anything aside from his head hitting the pillow. Actually, he couldn't even remember that. The memory of Tooth helping him up the stairs was blurry at best.

"You need a day of rest." Tooth stated. "Just like some of the fairies right now. I can't let you leave, but you can feel free to hang around with the other fairies who are resting for the day."

Jack nodded. "Where's that?"

"It's the small tower in that direction." Tooth pointed.

"The silver one?" Jack asked.

Tooth nodded. "Yes. Just try not to bother the fairies too much."

"Oh, I think they'll be the ones bothering me." Jack chuckled.

Tooth grinned, realizing he was probably right.

"Guess I'll see you later, Tooth." Jack waved at her, propping his staff up on his shoulder and heading for the silver building of the palace.

...

Tooth watched him leave, wondering if it had been a good idea to tell Jack to stay with the mini fairies for the day. She had a feeling he'd get pestered and prodded, but hopefully today, the fairies were too tired to do so.

Glancing down at the calendar on her clipboard, she sighed, realizing it was still early in June. Jack would be around for a long, long time at this rate. She didn't have a problem with it, of course. Jack was a wonderful person to have around. He was helpful, eager and always full of energy.

She quickly shook her head, ridding herself of the thoughts of Jack. She was getting just as bad as the mini fairies these days. The boy wouldn't get out of her head. Ever. It was infuriating, especially since the feeling probably wasn't mutual. Tooth glanced at her feathered arms with a sigh. After all, what normal human would love a human-bird hybrid?

She shook her head again. No, this wasn't about love. It wasn't about anything. She wasn't put on the earth by the Man in the Moon to fall in love with Jack Frost. No, she had a job to do, and that job was to collect and catalogue each and every child's teeth to hold on to the precious childhood memories. That was her job.

Tooth got back to work immediately, trying and failing to get her mind off Jack. She ran over her clipboard, checking off names one by one, but she had gotten into the habit of doing it without so much of a thought. Because of that, her thoughts continued to wander, even if she didn't want them to.

"Okay..." Tooth murmured to herself. "New plan."

She called a group of fairies over and told them to cover for her. She would go out alone today and collect teeth. She hoped that would distract her. Collecting a coin, Tooth whizzed out the window and flew through the night sky. The wind carried her like a blanket as she flew quickly and efficiently towards the first house. She flew through the window easily and collected the tooth, replacing it with a coin, smiling down at the sweet little girl who had lost her third tooth.

Then she flew out once more.

On and on the Tooth Fairy flew, a smile crossing her features as the wind blew through her iridescent feathers. How she missed this, going out into the field. She'd have to do it more often. It was just wonderful.

Tooth moved onto a new area, wary of the approaching thunderstorm. The wind picked up, but she knew that the teeth had priority. She pushed her way through the wind, finding the house as thunder split the air.

Tooth shot through the window, gasping for breath, her feathers soaked with rain water. When she caught her breath, she flew to the child's pillow and picked up a molar. She smiled, replacing it with a coin. Jason always took such good care of his teeth... If Tooth could give more, she would. She slid the molar into the pouch at her side and flew back out into the tempest.

She didn't feel herself hit the ground.

...

"You cheated!" Jack cried as the mini fairies laid down their final card in the game of Crazy Eight Countdown.

The fairies twittered in laughter, knowing Jack was only on twos. Ever since Jamie had taught him to play, Jack rarely lost a game of Crazy Eight Countdown, but for some reason a group of mini fairies had bested him.

"Okay, you win." Jack sighed, placing his cards on the floor in front of him.

The fairies squeaked their delight and converged on Jack, burying themselves in his hair, his clothes and in his pockets. He'd promised that if they beat him at a game of Crazy Eight Countdown, they could harass him all they wanted. Jack figured he'd win. He didn't. He could see himself in the mirror that was across the room. He was covered in blue and green fairies. He shook his head slightly, accidently sending a fairy that had been hugging his ear flying. He wasn't sure why they liked clinging to him so much. His skin was cold, wasn't it? The fairies themselves were extremely warm, and it made him uncomfortable to have all of them snuggled right up to his pale skin.

Jack sat down on the couch, the fairies now happily curling up in his lap. One of them yanked on a strand of his hair, making him wince.

"Hey!" He cried when the tugging continued. "Stop that! It hurts!"

The fairy that had been trying to yank out his hair squeaked and apology and flew down to hover in front of his nose. Jack went cross-eyed to keep it in view. It squeaked in laughter before kissing the end of his nose and flitting into the pockets of his hoodie.

Jack sighed. Tooth would never be this crazy. Yes, the mini fairies were parts of Tooth herself, but they didn't seem to have the self restraint Tooth had. Although that would suggest that the Tooth Fairy loved Jack as well. A frown creased the boy's brow. Why would the Tooth Fairy love him? She had no reason to.

A mini fairy burrowed herself beneath his hand, staring up at him expectantly. Jack sighed and ran his thumb over the top of her head. The fairy shivered with glee, but Jack stopped when he saw his frost creeping across the fairy's feathers. He didn't want to hurt them.

A tiny fairy rushed into the room, squeaking frantically. Jack immediately recognized her as Baby Tooth.

"Baby Tooth?" Jack stood up quickly, causing some fairies to fall and hit the floor with soft thuds. "What's wrong?"

Baby Tooth's eyes were wide and scared as she squeaked frantically. Jack had no idea what she was saying. He kept shaking his head, helplessly telling the creature he didn't understand.

Baby Tooth rushed over to a piece of paper on the table and grabbed a pencil. She struggled to hold it as she dragged it across the paper. She squabbled and squeaked as Jack felt like he was playing a really bad game of Pictionary. Baby Tooth drew a blob, cloud like object with a zigzag coming out of it. The zigzag stretched most of the way down the page, touching a pathetic looking stick figure with extra limbs which was lying on the ground.

Jack shook his head slowly as Baby Tooth dropped the pencil, still squeaking frantically. The rest of the mini fairies in the room joined in, the noise not helping Jack's thought process at all. The sound was drumming in his ears and his head slowly began to hurt.

"QUIET!" He cried.

The fairies instantly went quiet, several of them shaking in mid air.

Jack looked at the drawing and began going over it. "Is this a cloud?" He asked.

Baby Tooth nodded with a squeak.

"And this..." Jack ran his fingers down the zigzag. "Um...is it lightning?"

Baby Tooth squeaked again.

"Okay, so lightning struck...something?" Jack asked, staring at the deformed stick figure.

The fairy squabbled and began miming something in mid air. Jack watched, his expression confused. He watched as Baby Tooth began to mime writing something down on something in front of her. She straightened her body and made stern squeaking noises and pointed at something. Then she began flying around, picking up invisible objects and bringing them back and forth...

Wait...

"Tooth?!" Jack cried.

Baby Tooth squeaked, nodding violently.

"Tooth got struck by lightning?!" Jack's eyes widened as Baby Tooth wailed in distress. The rest of the fairies joined in instantly.

Jack tried to get them to calm down, trying to get some order back into the mess. It wasn't working. The fairies were too frantic.

"HEY!" Jack cried.

The fairies stopped their squealing instantly.

"No amount of crying is going to bring Tooth back here!" Jack stated. "Come on!" He turned and headed out of the rest room, heading for the library where Tooth worked every day. The mini fairies followed him, some of them still whimpering in distress.

Jack pushed his way into the library, his eyes widening in horror. It was chaos. Fairies were flying in every direction, wondering what to do. Groups were making loud squealing noises that sounded like crying. Others were staring around at everyone else, wondering what to do. Jack had never seen so much personality in the fairies. Some were strong, others had broken down. Others looked like they still wanted to work.

"HEY!" Jack called up at the fairies. Some of them stopped and instantly paid attention, but the rest of them continued to either squeal or flit around frantically.

"FAIRIES!"

It wasn't working. Jack huffed and twirled his staff, walking to the center of the room. He slammed the end of it on the ground, creating a sudden gust of icy wind. If that didn't get their attention, he didn't know what would. Luckily, they were now paying attention. Most of them looked a little dishevelled, but they looked all right.

"Listen!" Jack called out. "I know you must be scared, but you have to keep collecting teeth! Tooth would want you to do that!"

The fairies squeaked in agreement, but others still sounded frantic.

"If anyone knows where Tooth went, please come to me. I'll go find her. The rest of you, get back to work!"

Given orders, the mini fairies calmed down and started work again. Several of them came over to Jack and pointed out the area Tooth had taken on the map. Jack thanked them and headed out, leaving Baby Tooth and a small band of her friends in charge.

And Jack flew through the sky, heading south to where Tooth had been struck by the lightning. The air heated up as he flew. Jack knew he had to find Tooth as soon as possible. He couldn't handle hot weather.

The storm was still blowing when Jack arrived. Rain smashed into his face, freezing solid when it touched his frigid skin. Jack shook his arms, ridding himself of the ice.

"TOOTH!" Jack screamed into the tempest, the wind ripping his cries from his lips. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

He found her lying on a roof. She was unconscious, one of her wings folded beneath her from when she had crashed into the ground. Her feathers were sopping wet and water ran down her face like tears. It hurt to see her like that.

"Tooth? Tooth, speak to me..." Jack whispered. "Tooth..." He ran his hand across the feathers on her head. They were wet, not soft at all. He carefully scooped her up, minding her injured wing. He adjusted her so her head was resting against his shoulder. He leapt into the air and allowed the wind to take him away. Water rushed down his face and he shivered as he flew. He was too warm, but he couldn't drop Tooth.

They flew out of the storm, Jack sighing in relief. He shuddered again and looked up, seeing the moon shining down on him.

"Man in the Moon, help me get Tooth back..." He gasped.

He didn't know what he expected, whether it was to feel a sudden burst of strength, or have something else happen. Instead, he felt normal. There was no change.

Jack flew, his breath coming in ragged gasps as the palace came into view. He flew into the palace, the fairies instantly chittering happily at the sight of their leader.

Jack didn't have to ask. He followed the fairies through the halls as they showed Jack where Tooth stayed when she needed rest. It was an ornate room with a four poster bed complete with pretty blue and green curtains, but Jack couldn't admire the view. He pushed the curtains aside and gently set Tooth on the bed. Then, before he could do anything more, he collapsed and knew no more.


	4. Chapter 4: Recovery

Summer of Frost

Chapter 4: Recovery

Tooth couldn't remember much. As she slowly woke up, she could faintly remember being pressed against something cold. Her eyes fluttered open and she winced as pain flew through her shoulder. She couldn't remember what had happened, but whatever it was, it had obviously injured her.

Sitting up slowly, Tooth remembered the storm and the teeth she was collecting. Her eyes suddenly fell on a boy with white hair. Her face went warm as she realized just where the memory of being pressed against something cold had come from. Jack had carried her home. And from what Tooth could remember, she hadn't been collecting teeth in the upper latitudes.

Jack had braved the heat, risked his life to save her.

"Jack..." Tooth whispered, crawling towards the white haired boy. He'd obviously collapsed the second he'd set her down. He was sitting on the ground with his head on the side of her bed. His staff was lying on the rug beside him.

Tooth reached over and ran her hand through his hair, sighing softly. He was too warm... He was...

Whimpering?  
"Jack?"  
Tooth frowned in confusion, cupping his face in her feathered hands. His eyelids were twitching.

"Jack, wake up..." Tooth whispered. "Jack..."

Jack shuddered and snapped his eyes open. It was at that moment that both realized just how close together the two of them were. There wasn't even six inches between them. Tooth watched as Jack's face went from its normal pale white colour to pale blue. The skin on his cheeks even got colder with it.

Tooth let go of his face and sat up, wincing as the movement pulled against her injured wing.

Jack sat up, running a hand down his still blue tinged face.

"Jack?" Tooth whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that." Jack stated, his blue eyes meeting hers.

"I'm fine." Tooth said, flinching when her wings fluttered involuntarily.

"Your wing was injured when you fell." Jack said, standing up. "I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything to help."

Tooth shook her head. "No, you came to get me, didn't you?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah." He sighed. "Baby Tooth told me you'd been struck by lightning."

Tooth paled slightly. "O-Oh..."

"I didn't see it, but I went to get you."

"How'd the fairies take it?" Tooth asked.

"Not well. It was complete anarchy." He ran a hand through his hair. "I had to tell them to get back to work and not to worry because I was going to get you. I left Baby Tooth in charge when I left."

"Oh Jack... you didn't... I'm sorry you had to..."

Jack shook his head. "It was the least I could do." His blue eyes studied her. "So how are you really?"

"Sore..." Tooth said honestly, glancing back at her injured wing. "But I'll get better."

"You'd best not try to fly." Jack stated. "I'll look after the fairies while you rest, okay?"

"Jack-"

Jack shook his head. "No buts. I'm going to help you." He propped his staff up on his shoulder. "I'm going to get a few fairies to make sure your wing is all right. I can't say I know much about them, you see..."

Tooth nodded, her eyes wide with wonder. Jack left the room, leaving her in stunned silence.

Jack was... He did all that for her... No wait, maybe it wasn't for her. Maybe it was just because he was a Guardian. He was looking out for her. Yes, that's what it was. Nonetheless, she appreciated every little thing he did.

...

Jack slid down the banister of the library tower. He was glad Tooth was all right. She looked better this morning, though her feathers were still fluffed up and some were even bent the wrong way, but she looked better. Her skin was a bit pasty from the pain she was in, but other than that, she was okay.

"Tooth's up!" Jack called to the mini fairies. "I need a small party to look after her! First come, first serve!"

The nearest cloud of fairies rushed towards him. Jack counted out twenty of them and sent the rest of them back to work. They complied happily, as if it was normal for them to take orders from Jack.

Surrounded by twenty twittering fairies, Jack once again climbed the staircase to Tooth's room. She was still seated on the bed. Jack thought it very strange to see Tooth still for once. She was usually full of energy and flitting here and there. He was so used to seeing her always flying that as soon as her wings were still, she looked unnatural.

Tooth's face split into a smile as the mini fairies whizzed towards her. Her amethyst eyes sparkled as they inspected her wings and pecked at her cheeks, making sure she was okay. She winced when a fairy poked at her wing.

"Still hurts?" Jack asked.

Tooth nodded. "I won't be flying for awhile..."

The mere thought made Jack very, very sad.

"Well, I'll help any time you need me until your wing is better, and even then I'll still help." Jack grinned.

Tooth smiled, her cheeks turning pink. "Thanks, Jack."

"Don't worry about it." He leaned on his staff. "It's the least I can do. I only wish I could do more." His eyes followed two or three fairies as they looked after Tooth's wing. The rest of them were smoothing out her feathers and cleaning the dirt off her with tiny sponges. It was so well organized that Jack couldn't help but wonder if they'd done this before.

"I'll go back downstairs to look after the fairies." Jack said. "Before they get lost again."

Tooth nodded, although Jack didn't miss the mournful look in her eyes, as if she wanted him to stay.

"I'll come back to check up on you in a bit, okay?"

She nodded again. "Okay."

Jack flashed her a wry grin and once again, left the room, leaving Tooth with her squadron of mini fairies.

...

Tooth wanted to go downstairs. She was bored sitting in bed. She wanted to know how the teeth were coming and how the fairies were doing. Jack came up to visit from time to time, sometimes alone, sometimes tailed by two or three mini fairies. Most of the time though, he came up alone. Tooth looked forward to the visits, as she spent most of the week staring out the window.

The door opened again, making Tooth turn away from the drifting clouds. She saw Jack pushing the door closed before walking over to her.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"Good enough." Tooth said, smiling slightly. "How's everything downstairs?"

Jack buzzed his lips. "Not much to be said. The fairies are working hard. I wish I could understand what they were saying, but they understand me just fine."

Tooth nodded.

"You're looking better by the way."

"H-Huh?" She felt herself flush slightly.

"You're not as pale as you used to be." Jack said with a grin. "Is your wing doing okay?"

Tooth moved it slightly, feeling a dull ache at the joint. "Yeah. It's healing. Still hurts though."

"I hope it heals soon." Jack said.

"So do I. Probably more so than you."

Jack chuckled. "Ground not doing well for you?"

Tooth shook her head. "No. I hate it."

"Guess it's the same way with me and summer."

Tooth smirked. "I guess so." Then she sighed. "Guess you have to go back down soon, right?"

"Yeah." Jack said, shrugging. Then he grinned broadly. "I have a new respect for you, Tooth! Your job is _hard_! I can't believe you do it all year!"

"Finally, someone understands!" Tooth cried, throwing her arms in the air. She winced as it pulled at her wing joint.

Jack chuckled. "Take it easy, Tooth."

Tooth smiled weakly. "I have been for the last few days, Jack."

"Well, then keep taking it easy." He said, smiling. Then his eyes focused on the top of her head. "Hang on, hold still..."

Tooth did as she was told, her heart thudding in her chest as Jack reached out. She felt his cool fingers brushing a feather on the top of her head back into place. She hadn't even noticed it was out of place until he'd moved it back.

"T-Thanks..." Tooth said softly.

"No problem," he replied. "Anyway, I'm heading back downstairs."

Tooth nodded. "Okay, see you later..."

Jack waved and left the room, the door closing softly behind him.

Left alone, a shudder passed through Tooth's body as she remembered the cool hand against her feathers.

...

Jack walked idly down the stairs, his mind distant as he stared at the fingers that had touched Tooth's feathers. He had always figured they were soft, but he never actually realized just how soft they actually were. He couldn't think of anything to compare it to. He'd say it was as soft as downy feathers, but even that wouldn't be enough because he knew that they weren't downy feathers. Then again, he'd never actually touched a bird before.

Jack shook his head and focused on the task at hand, looking up at the mini fairies fluttering around. He took a deep breath and let it out, letting the hand that had touched Tooth's feathers fall to his side. He could still feel the fingers tingling. How strange...

Jack didn't do much other than to oversee the mini fairies and make sure they were okay. If one collapsed from exhaustion, Jack carried them to the rest room where they could relax and regain their strength. If one was injured, he looked after them straight away before taking them to the rest room as well. If they were really injured, he took them to the medic fairies, mini fairies that were specially selected to look after their injured allies. It was all so well organized that Jack really didn't have to do much, but when he did, it stressed him out slightly.

There was a faint squeaking noise that sounded like a sigh. Baby Tooth landed on his shoulder and bowed her tiny head.

"How are you doing, Baby Tooth?"

She let out a faint _wheee_ing noise. Jack took that as a 'not well'.

"Not feeling well?" Jack asked.

Baby Tooth shook her head.

"Tired?"

She nodded before rubbing her forehead.

"Headache too?"

The little fairy nodded again.

"Aw..." Jack ran his index finger across her back. She shivered and looked up at him with wide, sparkling eyes. "Should I take you to the rest room?"

Baby Tooth shook her head and crawled into Jack's hood. The white haired boy shrugged and let her stay there, hoping she'd be okay.

Today was slow. There weren't as many teeth to collect. Jack knew that he shouldn't let his guard down, because he knew that pretty soon, kids would start yanking their teeth out on purpose just so they could get a coin. Jack knew this really bothered Tooth. Honestly, he didn't blame her. He thought it was selfish and greedy. He didn't know much about what he did in his past, but he was almost sure he'd never ripped his teeth out. If he did, it was to relieve himself of the pain. But even then, he didn't remember a thing.

Jack sighed and pressed his staff into his forehead. His eyes closed as he enjoyed the coolness of the wood on his skin. Normally he wouldn't feel how cold his staff was, but over the last few days, the weather had started to take its toll on him. It was too warm. Jack needed cold. As soon as Tooth was better, he would probably head up to the North Pole for a few days.

...

As days continued to pass by, and June turned into July, Jack found it harder and harder to stay focused during the day. He just wasn't used to the constant working. He wanted to have fun for once.

Jack made his way up the stairs for the fourth time that day. When he pushed the door open, Tooth was stretching her wings, buzzing around the room to give them the much needed exercise they'd lost while she was bedridden for most of the month. Her eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Jack! You look horrible!" She cried, landing on the bed. "Are you okay?"

Jack shrugged. "I'm fine I guess." He approached her, sitting on the bed beside her.

"Your face is flushed, and you just..." She shook her head. "You don't look good, Jack."

"Guess I'm just not used to the constant work..." Jack mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

Tooth sighed, lying on her stomach and watching him curiously. His blue eyes were dull, not holding the same sparkle they normally held. It made Tooth feel very, very sad.

"Jack, take a break." Tooth said. "A long one. Go home for a few days."

"I don't have a home, Tooth." Jack sighed. "The only one I do have is in Burgess, and right now, it's summer."

Tooth sighed, her hand reaching towards him. She hesitated for a moment, but placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly but didn't protest. Her hand was warm, but it was a good warm. It was the kind of warmth that came from a hug from a loved one. Jack wished he could feel it all, but those thoughts made him feel stupid. Asking the Tooth Fairy for a _hug_. What kind of person was he?

"Jack?"  
Jack's head snapped up, meeting Tooth's gaze. _Her eyes are so pretty,_ he realized. He violently shoved the thought away. He was going stupid. It was the heat. The heat and the fact that he wasn't feeling well.

"If you won't take a break, then at least get some rest, okay?"

Jack nodded slowly, though he had absolutely no intention to sleep.

Tooth gave him a warm smile, but Jack couldn't return it. She was right actually. He was a mess. He didn't feel like Jack Frost. He didn't feel like anybody.

"Jack?"

He sighed heavily. "Sorry, Tooth. I'm not feeling myself today." He stood up, her hand trailing down her back as it fell off his shoulder. He instantly missed the warmth and regretted even moving.

"I can tell." Tooth stated. "What do you need me to do?"

"Nothing." Jack stated, tapping the wall with his staff. A little bit of frost crept across the wall, but it melted almost immediately. Tooth felt her heart break slightly. He really wasn't feeling well today...

"Jack, maybe you need to go to one of the Poles." Tooth stated.

Jack sighed and nodded. "I was going to go to the North Pole as soon as you got better."

"I am better!" Tooth said, flapping her wings and flying across the room to prove it. "See?"

Jack looked her over with his intelligent gaze. "You're still hurting, Tooth."

"I'm okay, Jack!" She grinned at him, her eyebrow twitching slightly from the pain in her wing. "Go to the North Pole, okay?"

"Tooth-"

"No buts, Jack!" She scolded. "To the snow with you!" She waved her arms, ushering him toward the window. "Go! Fly away, Snowflake!"

Jack snorted, his eyes glinting as his trademark grin slid across his features. "'Snowflake'?" He questioned.

Tooth flushed slightly. "Just go, okay?"

"Okay, _Birdie_, I'll see you later then." Jack grinned.

"'Birdie'?" Tooth looked a little hurt.

"Would you rather Feathers?" Jack asked.

"No, I..."

"Okay, Tooth." Jack said. "I won't give you a nickname unless I come up with something better, okay?"

Tooth opened her mouth to say something else, but Jack had already thrown himself out the window and was whipping away, riding the wind.

"'Birdie'..." Tooth whispered. She couldn't decide whether she liked the name or not. Then again, Jack was probably feeling the same way about being called 'Snowflake'. She didn't even know where that had come from. She'd just...said it.

She winced as pain flared through her wing again. She set herself down on her bed and gasped a few times, rubbing the spot that was aching.


	5. Chapter 5: Time Spent Apart

**A/N: HEY! We survived 2012! XD**

**Well, here's your chapter :) Hope you enjoy! :D**

Summer of Frost

Chapter 5: Time Spent Apart

The icy wind whipped through Jack's hair as he flew towards the North Pole. He couldn't help but think back on the way Tooth had sent him away. He knew she'd done it out of concern for him, but just the mere thought of leaving Tooth by herself for a week or so just so he could get cold again worried him. He knew nothing would happen to her, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety at the thought of her inability to fly effectively. Yes, she could fly, but Jack knew just by watching her stiff movements that she probably wouldn't be flying more than five minutes at a time. If she had to get out of that palace quickly, she wouldn't make it.

Jack shook away the thoughts. That was only assuming she'd get into trouble. Chances are, she wouldn't, but even then, Jack couldn't help but worry.

...

Tooth flew down the stairs at a much slower pace than she usually would. She knew she should be resting upstairs, but Jack was gone now. She had to organize her fairies herself.

"Ah, ow! Ow!" Tooth whimpered, collapsing halfway down them. She clutched her back where he wing joint was. To her surprise, several mini fairies tore up the stairs as if sensing their leader's pain. They whimpered and whined over her sore wing and eventually, some of them flew back to get more mini fairies. Tooth was touched as a large group of them grabbed onto her hands, feet, arms and back to haul her into the air and gently fly her down onto the main floor where they set her down before getting back to work.

Tooth smiled up at them, pulling her knees up to her chest. She couldn't walk very well. She wasn't used to it. Her legs weren't strong enough to support her weight, and that's why she never walked anywhere. Besides, she liked flying.

And so, Tooth sat on the floor, directing her fairies as the day went on. It made her feel good, now that she was doing something. She'd never been happier holding her clipboard and checking off names one by one.

The mini fairies seemed to be missing Jack. They weren't working with as much gusto as they used to. It made her wonder what Jack offered to get them to work... She suddenly figured she didn't want to know. Then again, what could Jack offer to the fairies that would be considered bad anyway? The worst he could do was offer them a chance to ride on his shoulder for a minute whenever they brought a tooth back...or a hug...or a kiss on the cheek...

Tooth suddenly found herself getting quite angry, but she didn't know why.

A mini fairy noticed, her head tilting to the side as she flew over to her leader. She squeaked her curiosity and met Tooth's lilac gaze.

"Nothing." Tooth told the fairy. "Just go back to work."

The fairy squeaked slightly but went back to work, glancing over her shoulder as she flew away.

...

"Jack Frost!" North cried with delight, welcoming him back to the North Pole with wide open arms. Jack kept his distance in case the big man decided to give him a hug. North gave the worst, most crushing bear hugs that ever existed.

"Hey." Jack greeted, leaning on his staff. "How's it going?"

"Quite well." North said happily. "Good to see you again. I was wondering when you'd come back... The elves tried out some of your toys and they seemed to really enjoy them!"

"The elves _would_ enjoy them..." Jack muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

North looked slightly taken aback but shrugged, brushing it off. "So tell me, tell me...What have you been up to this last month?"

"I was in the Warren for about a week..."

"Ah yes, Bunny told me about the flowers."

Jack rolled his eyes.

"So have you been hiding out in the far south? Antarctica?"

"No." Jack stated.

"Been up here without showing your face?"

"No!"

"So where have you been then?"

"I've been helping Tooth." Jack stated, walking around the globe and smiling at all of the bright glowing lights that symbolized the children.

"Must be a nightmare," North chuckled.

"Not really." Jack stated, cutting off the jolly man's laughter.

"Really now? That's surprising."

Jack's eyes found a single glowing dot in the United States. It shone brightly, showing a firm belief in the Guardians. It was in Burgess, and Jack knew it was Jamie's light. He of all people believed in the Guardians most of all.

"I always thought of Tooth as...sharp, and always working." North said. "She's your polar opposite, Jack." He chuckled slightly. Jack guessed he was laughing at his so called 'pun' about using the word 'polar' because they were in the North Pole. He didn't bother laughing, simply because he thought the 'pun' was nothing but a meltdown. And even then, he couldn't do any better.

"It's not like I can have much fun in summer anyway." Jack stated, spinning his staff between his hands and watching the curved part blur into a ball. "May as well make use of my time."

"When did you get so mature, Jack?" North murmured to himself.

"Probably when we fought Pitch." Jack replied, even though he knew North hadn't exactly intended for him to hear it.

His guess was confirmed right when the expression on North's face was mildly surprised at Jack's reply.

"Don't ask me." Jack stated, "I don't keep track of myself."

North chuckled. "That I'm sure of."

Jack grinned and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm going out into the snow for a bit. I'll talk to you later, North."

North smiled brightly. "All right, Jack. Feel free to come in if you get cold!"

Jack's grin broadened. "Chill out, I'll be fine."

North laughed. "Ha! That's a good one."

"S'no big deal." Jack said with a shrug. "It's what I do."

North laughed again. "Okay, okay. Off you go."

Jack grinned and headed out of the toy shop, walking towards the door that would lead him out into the cold, snowy North Pole.

...

Tooth was getting sore from sitting on the cold marble floor of her palace. She shifted slightly, pushing her feet beneath her so that maybe she could try standing up and walking. The fairies saw her doing this and proceeded to help pull her to her feet. Tooth smiled her thanks and leaned heavily against the wall, her knees quivering from the strain of holding her body up.

She tried to take a step but stumbled and fell to the floor. She hit her forehead painfully and whimpered. Fairies rushed all around her and proceeded to lift her into the air and carry her up the stairs. Tooth felt helpless as she floated slowly along. Tears burned in her eyes, but she held them back.

The mini fairies set her back on her bed and stared at her with concern. Tooth did her best to smile at them.

"I'm all right," she said. "Just go back to work, okay?"

They nodded, their eyes filled with worry, and turned, leaving Tooth alone in her room.

Now alone, Tooth couldn't stop the tears from bursting from her eyes. She held the sobs back but pressed her face into her pillow, feeling like she was choking. She had to stay strong. She didn't know when Jack would get back so she had to fend for herself...

Jack...

She felt selfish about wanting him to come back. But why did she want him to come back so much? She missed his smiling face and the way his ice blue eyes softened in concern when he saw her flinch in pain from her wing.

Tooth violently shook her head. What was she thinking? She was a Guardian! Her first and only concern should be the children, not Jack Frost!

"Okay, Tooth..." She said to herself. "Let's focus on getting your wing better so you can look after the fairies again..." She buzzed her wings while sitting down, testing them out, wincing a few times when they lifted her up. She fell back onto the bed with a soft whimper. Maybe she should be learning to walk instead of wasting her time fixing her wing.

Tooth slid her toes onto the floor and proceeded to stand with shaking legs. She grabbed onto the bedpost for support and took a single shaky step, almost falling down. She yelped and deliberately fell sideways back onto the bed, tears burning in her eyes again.

It's wasn't fair! She was helpless! She couldn't do anything by herself anymore! She hadn't realized how much pride she had until this moment. She didn't want to ask for help. She wanted to be able to do things herself. Just like she used to many, many years ago before she started splitting herself into hundreds upon thousands of mini fairies.

Tooth sighed, her mind drifting back to Jack. But at the same time, she wanted him around her. He made her smile, made her laugh...

She shook her head again. No, it wasn't about Jack. It was about her. She needed to do things herself.

...Then why couldn't she get him out of her head?

...

Jack sat in a snowdrift several miles away from North's house. He could faintly see it in the distance, but it was nothing more than a speck.

But he wasn't paying any attention to it.

The wind tossed his white hair to and fro, shoving it into awkward positions that didn't bother him. He had naturally messy hair anyway. Frost and snow caked his clothes, and his feet and hands were pale white. For the first time in months, he was comfortable. The perfect temperature.

_Go! Fly away, Snowflake!_

He felt his cheeks grow cold, which was strange seeing as he was never cold.

_Fly away, Snowflake!_

Even though she was injured, he was still first in her mind. But Jack knew he'd melt before he let anything bad happen to her. That's why he'd braved the south to pick her up after she'd been struck by lightning. The fact that she'd so cheerily sent him away to normalize his body temperature told him that she cared about him just as much as he cared about her.

_Snowflake!_

Jack didn't feel the smile crossing his lips. He liked it. 'Snowflake'. He just wished he could come up with a nice nickname for Tooth in return. 'Birdie' sounded insulting, 'Feathers' even more so. What was Tooth really? She was pretty, kind, nice, and she always put the children first. Jack admired her for that. Oh, and she was the Tooth Fairy. Should he call her 'Pixie'? Heck no, that just sounded dumb.

Jack slapped a hand to his forehead, realizing what he'd been thinking about for the last five minutes. He'd been thinking about _Tooth_. And not just Tooth either. He'd been thinking about _pet names_ for her.

"What the heck wrong with me?" Jack muttered, rubbing his face with his hands. He turned slightly, seeing North's house off in the distance. Maybe he'd know the answer.

Jack nodded and stood up, letting the wind scoop him up and carry him back towards the cottage.

...

Tooth somehow managed to make it down the stairs by half flying, half walking when she next checked up on her fairies. They were working hard, as if in their minds the only thing there was the children and their teeth. That made her smile.

Mini fairies rushed to greet her when they saw Tooth. She smiled and touched each one of them before telling them to get back to work. They were happy to comply.

Tooth sat back down on the floor with a sigh. It had only been a day or so since Jack had left for the North Pole, but for Tooth, it felt like it had been forever. She hadn't realized what a part of the Tooth Palace the white haired hellion had become over the last month. The palace felt so empty without him. And judging by the occasional sighs of the mini fairies, they felt exactly the same way.

...

Jack kept getting sidetracked. The second he found North, he started procrastinating.

The fact was that Jack had no idea how to go about asking such a question. He figured 'hey North, I haven't been able to stop thinking about Tooth lately. Can you tell me what's wrong with me?' wouldn't do him much good. In fact, North would probably laugh at him and give him some philosophical answer such as: 'to think is to know, and to know is to think', and Jack would be right back where he started: without having a single, measly little clue as to what was going through his head.

Jack did his best to have fun over the next few days he spent at the North Pole. But for some reason, the Guardian of Fun just...couldn't have fun. Whenever he felt a laugh bubbling to his throat, he wished Tooth was beside him to experience what he was experiencing. Basically, he couldn't stop thinking about the Tooth Fairy. The fact was frustrating enough to make him want to hurl snowballs at windows and watch them shatter into thousands of pieces.

...Er, just the snowballs.

With a huff, Jack Frost, the normally calm and collected Spirit of Winter collapsed onto North's couch as a circle of frost expanded around him.

"I don't need to be a mind reader to know that something's bothering you, Jack." North said from his chair in the corner. Jack hadn't even noticed he had been there. "Is there something wrong?"

Jack merely shrugged, his mind going over that pathetic little statement he'd thought about days ago. Now that he had North's undivided attention once more, he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Jack?"

The white haired boy looked up, slightly surprised to see North standing in front of him.

"What's bothering you?"

"Tooth got hurt." Jack said suddenly.

"Did she?" North's face frowned in concern. "Is she all right? When did this happen?"

"About a month or so ago." Jack stated. "I've been looking after her fairies until she told me to come up to the North Pole because it was getting too warm there."

North nodded. "Is she still hurt?"

"Yeah. She can't fly very well."

"This is grave news..." North murmured. "If something were to happen..."

"That's...what I'm worried about."

North met Jack's gaze, his eyes sharp and questioning, as if he were waiting to see what Jack would do next.

"And?" North asked when Jack didn't receive the cue.

"I...didn't want to leave her, but she expects me to be here for a few days..."

"And?"

Jack frowned, his mouth twisting into an annoyed grimace.

"Jack Frost, what do you plan to do about this?"

Jack glanced away in thought, realizing that his only answer would be to go back to the Tooth Palace and make sure she was okay.

"I'll...have to go back." Jack stated.

North smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Then get going, Jack Frost."

Jack grinned and jumped up, heading for the door. "All right then! I'll see you later, North!"

"Give Tooth my well wishes." North said, still smiling.

"I will." Jack said. Then he ran through the halls until he burst into the arctic air once again. He leapt into the sky and flew into the air, heading back for Tooth and her palace of constantly fluttering fairies.

...

As always, Tooth was stuck on the floor. Her eyes flitted from fairy to fairy as she recorded each and every tooth. She sighed as several mini fairies approached her, deciding she needed a break and took over. Tooth let them take the clipboard, but now, she was out of a job and out of distractions. Her mind was now free to flit back and forth from Jack Frost to her injured wing. Her eyes burned again as she shook her head. No, she had to go upstairs.

Tooth struggled to her feet, her legs shaking with the effort. The fairies continued to work as their leader stumbled for the stairs and began to slowly inch her way up. She held on tight to the railing, using it to hold her up.

And she lost count of the stairs. Choked sobs burned at her throat as he legs felt like they were inlaid with fire, all the while, her mind longed to fly far, far away from all of this. With a cry, she tripped and fell down. She braced herself to hit the staircase but an icy arm caught her.

"Tooth, why are you walking around like this?"

The voice was so painful, so familiar that Tooth couldn't help it any longer. She cried, the sobs tearing from her throat as she finally cracked, all the pain and emotional suffering she'd gone through over the last few days rushing out of her like the air from a popped balloon.

Meanwhile, Jack lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs as she buried her face in his shoulder. The sound of her wails wrenched at his heart and made him want to cry as well. But he had to stay strong for her. She needed someone to be strong, as a support so she could make it through this moment of weakness.

Jack tried to set her on the bed, but she clung to him and wasn't letting go. With a sigh, Jack tossed his staff onto the carpet and carried her onto the bed, pulling her into his lap as he leaned against the headboard. He held her, running his hand over her soft feathers as she wept softly. He wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but he still wasn't sure what it was that had made her so upset. No, all he could do was be her rock, something to hold onto and give her even just a little bit of strength so she could hold on.

And Jack sat there, holding her close as her whimpers quieted and watched as she fell asleep, grateful that he'd talked to North, grateful that he'd shown him where he was needed most. And that place, where he was needed, was with Tooth.


	6. Chapter 6: Lost Days

**A/N: Hey... IT'S CHRISTMAS. Here's my present to you ^-^ A SUPER MEGA EARLY UPDATE! XD**

**Enjoy ^-^**

Summer of Frost

Chapter 6: Lost Days

Tooth was pressed against something soft and mildly chilly. She was cold, but it was a nice cold. It felt good for some reason. She snuggled deeper into the cold and felt whatever she was lying on shift slightly, as if to compensate for her movement. She felt an arm across her back and a hand on her waist, supporting her so she didn't fall down.

Her eyes fluttered open. She caught sight of the side of a pale neck and a blue hoodie which had frost flecking the shoulders and chest. Her face grew warm as she realized what this was.

She was in Jack Frost's lap, and she was curled right up to him, her head pressed into his shoulder. His arms were around her, and if she was right, one of his hands was softly caressing the feathers on the side of her face.

And it felt so _good!_

Tooth suppressed a shudder as Jack sighed softly, his cool breath tickling her cheek slightly. She never wanted this to end. His cool embrace covered her like a blanket and made her feel good.

But...why was he doing this?

Not moving an inch, Tooth's mind darted back to the events that occurred just before she'd fallen asleep. She remembered trying to walk up the stairs to her room. She remembered stumbling and falling, a cold hand grabbing her around the waist. Jack had caught her, and the second he'd spoken, her tough exterior had shattered into thousands of pieces and she'd broken down right there and cried.

And he'd picked her up and carried her up to her room. He'd pulled her close and held her until she couldn't remember why she'd started crying in the first place. He'd held her long after she'd fallen asleep.

He held her even now, his cool fingers caressing her feathers, making a shiver pass through her.

"Sorry." Jack said, now realizing she was awake. "I didn't realize you were cold..."

Tooth shook her head slowly. "It's fine..." Her voice was quiet and raspy, not her own. "It's nice..." She said without thinking, a blush cascading across her cheeks.

Jack chuckled softly, adjusting his arm so he was more comfortable and resuming his ministrations on her cheek. Tooth closed her eyes, breathing the sharp, minty smell that clung to Jack like a perfume. He smelled like a fresh, winter breeze, and every place his skin touched hers made her feel like snowflakes were dancing across her skin. She shivered again, making Jack sigh.

"Okay, I think you're a bit too cold now." He said.

Tooth couldn't bring herself to protest as Jack slid himself out from beneath her and laid her on the bed. He was still seated beside her, his hand gently stroking her feathers.

"Jack?" Tooth said softly.

"Hm?"

"Thank you..."

Jack smiled down at her, his expression so soft and so gentle that Tooth felt her heart melt.

"Don't even worry about it, Tooth." He said, his thumb running over her forehead.

She smiled bashfully up at him, her cheeks flushing brightly as she glanced away. Jack chuckled and continued caressing her feathers, drawing a content sigh to her lips.

...

Jack couldn't tell whether Tooth had fallen asleep again or not. She had a soft smile on her face, and she looked relaxed, curled up slightly on the bed beside him.

Jack could still remember how warm she had been. From the moment he'd picked her up to carry her up the stairs, her warmth had overwhelmed him. But it was a good warmth. It wasn't the kind of heat that comes from the burning sun on a summer day, or even a blazing fire for that matter. It was the warmth that came from life, a gentle heat that contained comfort and love.

His hoodie had been wet from her tears, but Jack didn't care. Those had dried up while she slept. And she'd slept in his arms, soundly and comfortably for several hours. Jack had gone stiff from holding her up and supporting her as she became dead weight against him, but he never wanted to let go. Ever. She had been so warm... And her feathers... They were so soft... He couldn't stop touching them. Even now, he ran his fingers over her soft, fluffy feathers. He just couldn't bring himself to stop.

Tooth shifted slightly in her position, moving a little bit closer to Jack. He felt his cheeks grow cold as a pale blue blush crossed his features. She was just so...

Jack shook his head violently. He was her friend, and he was supporting her right now. He shouldn't be thinking about how pretty she was, or how soft her feathers were, or even how nice it was to hold her close... wait, what _was_ he thinking?

Jack took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. He needed to find new thoughts.

"Hmm..." Tooth murmured, opening her eyes. Jack looked down at her as she turned her head, meeting his gaze with her pretty lavender one.

"How are you doing, Tooth?" Jack asked, still feeling the cool blush on his cheeks.

"I'm... okay..." She said softly. Then she began to sit up. Jack reached over to help her up, even though she barely needed it. He was just looking for an excuse to touch her one last time, because chances were, he'd never get another one.

"Thanks..." Tooth said honestly.

"Don't worry about it." Jack told her.

"How long was I sleeping for?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"A few hours."

"O-Oh..." Tooth bit her lip nervously before looking back up at Jack. "Why'd you come back so soon? I thought you'd be gone longer."

"I was worried about you." Jack said honestly, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't want to stay up at the Pole when you were back here, unable to fly."

Tooth nodded slowly, staring at her feet.

"So what happened with you?" Jack asked.

Tooth bowed her head. "I was just... I was scared because I couldn't fly... I felt so helpless..." Tooth whispered.

Jack didn't miss the tears that ran down her cheeks again. On instinct, Jack reached out and swiped the tears off her face. His fingers left cool trails across her face, as if someone had smeared snow on her cheeks. It felt nice.

"I tried to stay strong for the fairies." Tooth explained, still staring at her feet. "But then you came back, and I...I don't know I just..."

Jack nodded slowly, understanding as best as he could.

"I missed you, Jack." Tooth said, her cheeks flushing.

Jack smiled softly. "Yeah." He agreed. "I missed you too."

...

Tooth was slowly beginning to learn to walk. With Jack always there, lending his shoulders for support, Tooth began to get stronger, allowing her to walk up and down the stairs as she pleased, although she was quite out of breath by the end of it.

Jack was strangely good at controlling the fairies. He used a combination of bribery and assertive leadership to make sure they kept working. The sight of Jack getting pelted by hugging mini fairies amused Tooth to no end, especially since now she'd been closer to Jack than any of her mini fairies ever have.

Tooth had long since sent word with several mini fairies, telling North that she was all right and recovering. She doubted he would pay her a visit, but that didn't really matter to her. Jack was all the company she really needed.

"How are you doing, Tooth?" Jack asked, approaching her with a crooked grin on his face.

Tooth grinned back. "I'm all right."

"Are you just saying that so I don't worry?" Jack asked, tilting his head slightly.

"No, I'm really all right."

Jack nodded. "Okay, that's good." He smiled brightly. "Going to try flying today?"

Tooth nodded. "Yeah. I'll try flying up the stairs later."

"All right. I'll be there whenever you're ready to try."

Tooth smiled. "You always are."

Jack laughed. "I always will be." Then he waved and headed back to work with the fairies, making sure they stayed in line.

"Jack, you're better at this job than I am..." Tooth murmured. With his promise of one hug for every tooth brought back, even Tooth wanted to go out into the field just to bring back a tooth in exchange for a hug from Jack Frost. Then again, for her, hugging Jack was as easy as just walking up to him and wrapping her arms around him. Although she would never just do that. That would make her feel awkward, and it might startle Jack.

So Tooth watched from afar, smiling softly to herself. She didn't notice her wings fluttering as she hovered a few inches off the ground. He had a way of making her feel...happy. She couldn't even explain it.

A mini fairy rushed Jack from behind and pegged him in the back of the head. He yelped, his head snapping forward from the force of the impact as the fairy clung to his hair and snuggled into it. Tooth giggled to herself grinning as he pulled the fairy from his hair and let it hug his finger for a few seconds before telling it to go back to work.

...

Working was starting to get to Jack again. He lay in his room at the top of the tallest tower in the Tooth Palace with his arms behind his head. He'd get up to take Tooth downstairs, but he didn't want to do that, because he really didn't want to work. Because once he took Tooth downstairs, his workday would begin, and he'd be stuck directing fairies for the day.

Jack didn't want to work today. He wanted to have fun.

He sighed and sat up in his bed just as his door opened. He turned his head, seeing Tooth pushing the door open, her eyes curious.

"Jack?" She asked. "Why weren't you coming down?"

Jack sighed heavily and turned sideways so he was still sitting on the bed, but his feet were on the floor.

"I just... don't want to work today, Tooth." He stated.

"Ah..." Tooth nodded slowly. "Fair enough." She met his eyes with a disapproving expression. "That doesn't excuse the fact that you didn't come to see me this morning."

Jack grinned. "I didn't think it mattered that much."

Tooth flushed red.

Jack laughed and glanced out the window where the sun was shining brightly.

"Tooth?"  
"Hm?"

"If you're up for it, want to go somewhere with me?"

Tooth flushed again, making Jack realize what he'd just asked. His cheeks flushed pale blue.

"Sure." Tooth said, a smile stretching across her features. "I'd love to."

Jack grinned and stood up, new life rushing through him.

Tooth laughed at him. "So where are we going?"

"No idea." Jack headed over to the window, holding out his hand. "Let's just find someplace."

Tooth laughed and flew over, grabbing his hand. Jack tried not to flinch away from her warmth as he pulled her out the window to let the wind catch them. Tooth laughed as they flew away from the Tooth Palace.

"Will the fairies be all right?" Jack asked her, still holding her warm hand.

Tooth smiled. "Yeah, they'll manage!"

Jack grinned. "Good."

Tooth laughed, her feathers ruffling as they flew through the sky.

...

Tooth couldn't stop the warm blush from creeping across her face as they flew steadily north. Jack had pulled her up right beside him and occasionally their eyes would meet, a gentle blush crossing their faces. Tooth had figured that when Jack's face turned blue, he was blushing. Tooth found it completely endearing.

Jack's blue gaze was distant as he contemplated what they were going to do. His eyes glinted just before he turned to look at her, a grin on his face.

"Hold on, Tooth." He said, smirking.

Tooth felt her face flush, and a moment later, they shot downwards towards the ground. Tooth screamed in terror for a moment, but as soon as she realized Jack was in control of the situation, she started laughing.  
Jack cheered loudly, his voice high pitched and ecstatic, the cry drawing a similar one from Tooth.

Hitting top speed, the wind shot them back up into the air again. Tooth laughed as the wind pulled at her feathers. She glanced at Jack to see his hair whipped back from his face by the wind. It was blowing around violently, making it even messier than normal.

"Can we dive again?" Tooth asked, a grin on her face.

Jack's head turned towards her, the expression on his face both mischievous, excited and happy. It was an odd combination that made Tooth's heart pound with fear and excitement.

And they shot straight down again.

Tooth loved every second of those moments she spent, flying with Jack. His hand was cool in hers, and it was firm and tight, not letting her go. Without really thinking about it, she reached over with her other arm and grabbed his wrist, yanking him towards her.

Jack yelped in surprise just before the Tooth Fairy's arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Jack laughed and returned the embrace as the wind continued to carry them through the sky. Pressed tightly up against Jack's cold body, Tooth felt happy and content. She smiled into his chest, breathing his fresh, minty scent.

"WHOA!" Jack cried as the wind suddenly shoved them straight down towards the ground.

"JACK!" Tooth shrieked, her heart pounding in her chest.

"WIND! STOP!" Jack shouted, waving his staff. Nothing happened. That scared Tooth more than anything.

Jack suddenly flipped around, putting her above him. Tooth's eyes widened as she saw the snow covered ground of the arctic rushing up to them. They slammed into it hard, Tooth landing heavily on top of Jack who choked as all of the air rushed from his lungs. Tooth shivered as a cold wind blew across her body.

"Jack?" She gasped, slowly coming to her senses. She flushed when she realized she was lying on top of the white haired boy.

Jack groaned, raising his hand to touch his forehead. "That wasn't fun..." He sat up slowly, Tooth crawling from his lap.

"Jack, what happened?" Tooth asked.

"I don't know." Jack said softly, running a hand through his hair. "I just... lost control of the wind."

"How do you just lose control of the wind?" Tooth asked.

Jack didn't respond to that as he stood up. "I think we should go back." He said.

Tooth's brow furrowed in both sadness and confusion. Jack's blue eyes were distant, as if he couldn't quite remember what had just happened.

"Okay." She said, though she felt strangely disappointed.

Jack held out his hand again and she took it quickly before the two of them flew into the sky, Jack's face sharp as he focused on nothing but getting them back to the Tooth Palace.

...

Tooth got to work as soon as they got back. Jack took one quick glance at her working and retreated up the stairs, heading for his room.

He'd lost control today. That he couldn't deny. He'd left a lot out that he didn't tell Tooth. He never realized how much focus it took to control the wind, and he'd gotten completely distracted while they'd been flying.

Jack flopped down onto his bed, groaning as he pressed his hands against his forehead. He'd basically asked Tooth on a date today. She'd said yes. As soon as she did, Jack swore to himself that the two of them would laugh so much, their stomach's would ache from the strain of it. He wanted to see her smile, to hear her laugh, to watch her wings flutter through the air and see her feathers shimmer in the sunlight.

And while they'd been flying, Tooth had pulled him into a hug. She had been warmer than Jack remembered, but he liked it. He forgot everything except for Tooth. She smelled sweet, although the actual scent he couldn't name, not to mention her feathers were incredibly soft against his cheek...

And then they were falling towards the ground. By then, Jack was in so much shock, he couldn't regain control. All he could do was flip himself around so he would hit the ground first and Tooth would land on top of him, hopefully unhurt. He'd succeeded in both of those things, but he felt embarrassed. Instead of laughing and enjoying the time away from the palace, Jack had crashed them in the arctic due to his inability to focus around Tooth.

Why was she so...? He couldn't find the word for it. Distracting wasn't the half of it. She was beautiful, charming, funny, and...

He really liked her.

Jack sighed heavily and rolled over, his hand curling into a fist as he crushed the blanket between his icy fingers. He had a crush on Tooth. He loved her even. How long had this gone on unnoticed? A long time apparently if it had gotten to this level.

His bedroom door suddenly opened. Jack heard the distinct sounds of Tooth's wing beats and immediately pretended to be asleep.

"Jack?" Her voice was sweet and genuinely curious. "Can I talk to you?"

Jack didn't want to respond. He couldn't respond... He couldn't even look at her.

"Stop pretending to be asleep, Jack!" Tooth cried, her voice stern. "I know you're not sleeping!"

He wondered how she knew, but still couldn't bring himself to roll over and look at her.

"Spirits don't sleep unless they have great need to!" Tooth stated. "You have no reason to be asleep right now, so get up!"

"Okay you win..." Jack sighed, rolling over. "Sorry..."

"Jack, why would you pretend to be asleep?" Tooth asked, her voice hurt.

"I..." Jack flushed slightly. "I was embarrassed..."

"About what? That we fell?"

Jack didn't respond.

"Jack, I don't hate you for it." Tooth said softly, a small smile crossing her features. "I just wanted to say I had a lot of fun today. Okay?"

Jack looked up at her in surprise.

"Don't give me that look." Tooth scolded. "I really did have fun."

Jack smiled slightly. "Well, I'm glad."

Tooth grinned. "I have to get back to work. Sulk up here all you want."

Jack laughed. "All right then."

Tooth's grin widened. "See you later, Jack!"

Jack raised his hand to wave goodbye as Tooth buzzed from the room.

.

.

.

**Happy Holidays!**

**Yea, the chapter had nothing to do with Christmas XD It was just my present to ya :D**

**Hope you enjoyed :)**

**~Silver**


	7. Chapter 7: Dawn of Autumn

**A/N: I know, I know... It's called SUMMER of Frost, but it doesn't actually STAY summer XD**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! ^^**

Summer of Frost

Chapter 7: Dawn of Autumn

July turned into August, and August turned into September, and Jack was still working with Tooth. They hadn't gone out alone since that disastrous day, but that never stopped Jack from thinking about what he'd learned. Not that he could stop thinking about Tooth anyway, but that was besides the point.

As the weather continued to cool, Tooth could only watch as the boys enthusiasm went from almost nonexistent, to constant. Jack no longer wanted to work. He was restless, and he seemed to freeze everything he came into contact with. Tooth could tell he was getting ready to bring winter that year. Seeing him so happy made her smile, but as September crept to its final days, Tooth knew Jack wouldn't be hanging around much longer, and then he'd be gone until summer came again.

The fairies were being constantly distracted by his antics. Not only was he not getting any work done, he was preventing the fairies from doing so as well. For a few days, Tooth put up with this, as she'd been looking after the fairies now that her wings had healed. But the day Jack accidently froze a small cloud of them while goofing off, Tooth lost it.

"JACK FROST!" She cried.

Jack flinched, realizing he'd upset Tooth. She hovered in front of him, her lilac eyes sharp and condescending.

"You _cannot_, _will_ not, freeze my fairies!" She scolded.

"S-Sorry Tooth...I didn't mean to..." Jack bowed his head sadly. The gesture almost made Tooth take pity on the boy. But she knew that he'd do it again. His powers were growing stronger with the changing of the seasons. He couldn't help himself.

"I'm sure you didn't." Tooth said. "But I can't lose anymore."

Jack winced. That's what Bunny had said before he kicked him out.

"Go back to North, that way you can prepare for winter."

Jack didn't speak. He turned and with his head still bowed, he walked to the doors and pushed them open. Tooth saw him fly into the air just before the doors closed again.

"I'm sorry, Jack..." Tooth whispered.

...

Jack didn't go to North's.

He went south, back to Antarctica. He felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't do anything right. Jack was, simply put it, a harbinger of disaster. First his toys were too dangerous for children. Next, he froze Bunnymund's flowers. It was only a matter of time before he did something to Tooth as well. And not only did he freeze several of her fairies the day he finally brought disaster, he'd fallen deeply in love with her. That was a mistake he couldn't take back, because she had already wedged herself so deeply into his heart that if he pulled her out of it, he was sure there'd be nothing left.

Yet, the feeling of having her there was more painful than anything else, because he knew, deep down, that she couldn't possibly love him back. He was disaster. He was cold. He was...everything she wasn't. Immature, uncaring, and had a disregard for rules. Tooth was mature, she cared about every little thing, she followed rules, met deadlines, worked hard, smiled, laughed and protected children's teeth.

Sitting atop a cliff, Jack looked up at the sky, seeing the Man in the Moon staring down at him. He sighed and gazed steadily at the bright, silver celestial body that had given him his powers all those years ago. When he'd fallen through ice. When he'd drowned. When he'd saved his sister through a game.

Tooth flew through his thoughts, stopping him from thinking about the guilt that always came after thinking about that day. She was always there, hovering just at the back of his thoughts, ready to fly into his conscious and take his thoughts away from everything around him.

"Why?" Jack whispered to nobody, but still staring up at the moon. "Why did I fall in love with the Tooth Fairy?"

He didn't expect an answer. He didn't get one either.

...

The Tooth Palace was quiet without Jack. Tooth was almost tempted to call him back so she could fill the void that was missing in her day. But she knew she couldn't. Jack had work to do himself. Winter was coming. She couldn't have him around all year, even though she wanted to. Besides, he had been getting really restless. He had to go. He had to.

But that didn't stop Tooth from feeling like she was going to throw up every time she so much as thought about the white haired hellion. His laugh was like an uplift in her day. His smile, something to feel good about. And the way his eyes twinkled when he got an idea made her heart melt.

Tooth had fallen in love with Jack. She couldn't deny that no matter how hard she tried. And she was happy with it. She liked having someone to think about, even if she thought Jack would never, ever love her in return. It was just...nice to finally be able to love someone. She didn't know whether she'd ever tell him how she felt, but until then, she figured she'd enjoy the giddy feeling she got whenever she pictured his smile, or remembered his laugh.

Regardless, she had to work. There were many teeth to collect, and that was her job. She had to collect and protect the children's teeth. Thinking about Jack wouldn't bring the teeth here. Hard work on the other hand, would.

...

The wind whipped through Jack's hair and tore at his clothes. He'd decided that sulking in Antarctica wasn't going to solve anything. He had to go back to the North Pole where he could slowly trek south, brining ice and snow with him as he walked.

He flew above the airplanes, high above the clouds in the cold air of the upper atmosphere. The air was thin and crisp here. Jack liked it. It's where he flew to stay away from the heat down below. Sometimes, he flew so high, he could see the void of space so close, yet so far. He could never go there though. That much he knew. He'd always get shot back down by the wind when he flew too high.

Jack began losing altitude as he began flying through northern latitudes. He flew over the States. He flew over Canada. Finally, he arrived in the ice covered domain of the North Pole. He tried to smile as he landed in the snow, but a sigh quickly passed through him. Now he had nothing to think about. He'd arrived at his destination. Now his mind was drifting back to Tooth.

Jack swatted at the snow with his staff as he walked towards North's cottage. The wind blew the powder in every direction, ice crystals whipping Jack in the face and catching on his clothes. And slowly, Jack began to smile.

The wind whipped around him, sending a blast of snow into his face. And Jack forgot everything as he remembered winter was coming. He flew into the air, laughing as he flew over North's cottage and into the upper areas of Russia. He froze lakes, and trailed his staff across the ground, handing cold air and frost to all of the people there. A small part of Canada got ice and frost as well. Bringing cold and snow...he lived for that. He didn't live for Tooth, he didn't live for anyone or anything except for the snow, ice and wind.

And Jack landed on the front porch of North's house, a grin plastered across his face. He pushed inside, the snow in his hair still remaining regardless of the warmth inside. He walked through the halls, several yetis nodding their welcome, elves jingling merrily as the house prepared for the coming Christmas.

Jack pushed into the workshop, smiling at the sight of North working hard.

"...red hair! It's not brown, it's red!"

The yeti that was getting an earful from North sulked slightly, a doll with brown hair in his hands. Jack could tell he'd worked really hard on it. It made him feel bad.

"I think it looks great." Jack said, propping his staff up on his shoulder. "The little girl who gets it should be quite happy."

The yeti's eyes sparkled with gratitude as North whipped toward Jack.

"Jack! Welcome back! Tooth is doing well?" He said cheerily.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, she can fly again." He examined the unfinished doll in the yeti's hands, nodding at the attention to detail. It really did look nice, even if it wasn't wearing clothes just yet.

North turned back to the yeti, his disapproving expression continuing to irritate Jack.

"North, come on, give him a break. He's doing his best." Jack stated.

North sighed in irritation. "Christmas is-"

"Not about gifts, North." Jack stated. "It's about seeing the smiles on children's faces when they come downstairs on Christmas morning, still holding onto the mystery as to how the gifts got under the tree."

North took a deep breath and sighed, his irritation calming. "I don't expect you to understand, Jack." He stated.

"Okay." Jack said. "Work your yetis to the bone. You're right. Christmas is your holiday. Sorry for getting in the way. I'll be sure to help Bunny make eggs next Easter."

North's brow twitched and he opened his mouth to say something in his defence, but Jack was already examining the other toys the yetis were making, smiling as he tested some of them out. The yetis loved watching the toys they made work. They never usually got to try them out themselves, so they were sure some of them must've been faulty. But seeing Jack play with the toys gave them a sense of security, that their toys were in fact, working.

Jack watched North slowly go around, watching the toys being made. North was so uptight today! He needed to have fun. Jack smiled and held up his hand, a snowflake twirling between his fingers. He blew on it, and it turned blue and flew towards North. The red-clad Russian turned just as the snowflake reached him. It hit him squarely on the nose and a moment later, blue sparkles glittered in front of his eyes.

North's face split into a grin, and he instantly began showing much more approval for the toys his yetis were making. Jack laughed, standing on the curved part of his staff, watching the scene from a high angle. He laughed, watching as North tried out some of the toys to make sure they worked and even started offering suggestions as to how to make it better. Jack was almost certain he'd get an earful from North when the spell wore off, but right now, he didn't worry about that. Because to Jack, toys didn't matter. He just cared about the children having fun.

...

It had been about a week since Jack had left the Tooth Palace. Tooth was starting to forget the sound of his voice and the way his teeth sparkled when he grinned. She sighed heavily, realizing just how much she missed Jack Frost.

Tooth continued to work, recording teeth that were brought back. Several mini fairies sensed her sadness and flew over, hovering in front of her, tilting their heads to the side in curiosity.

"Should I go to see him?" Tooth asked them.

The mini fairies nodded vigorously, several of them latching onto her clipboard and ripping it from her hands.

Tooth laughed. "All right. I'm off then."

The fairies squeaked their goodbyes as Tooth flew out the window, heading north. She hummed to herself, thinking about what she would say when she saw Jack up at the pole. Would she just give him a simple hello? Or would she hug him and tell him how much she missed him? No, she couldn't do that... She'd figure it out once she got there.

Tooth's wings had gotten stronger since the lightning strike. Now, she was able to fly with the wind or even against the wind if need be. The joint still ached sometimes, but in the end, she could fly. She delighted in the feeling of the cool wind on her face and the feeling of complete freedom that came from flight. She loved it. She'd never take it for granted again.

When snow and cold wind pelted her in the face, Tooth knew she was getting close to the North Pole. Unlike the cold that came from hugging Jack, this cold wasn't a good cold. It was the cold that didn't stay on the surface. It raced into her blood and froze her bones and chilled her from the inside out. She shuddered, but kept flying. She'd get warm as soon as she got to North's house. He'd probably make her a cup of hot chocolate, and then Jack would be there, smiling and happy about seeing her again...

Tooth lingered on that hopeful fantasy until she was on North's doorstep. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, shaking her body and fluffing her feathers to rid herself of the snow before it melted. She buzzed through North's house until she arrived at the toy shop. She pushed her way inside, smiling at the yetis working like busy little fairies.

"Tooth Fairy! To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Tooth grinned, turning towards North who was welcoming her with open arms. He had the slightly wild expression of a person who was under Jack's fun spell, but Tooth didn't see anything wrong with that. Other than the fact that maybe Jack had bewitched North, but nonetheless it was nice to see the Russian smiling around this time of year instead of being stressed out.

"I just came by to say hello." Tooth said with a smile. "Where's Jack run off to?"

"Oh I expect he's spreading the winter delights to northern latitudes as he usually does this time of year." North said in his cheery accent. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate would be nice." Tooth said, cheering on the inside. At the very least that part of her fantasy had come true.

North laughed. "Coming right up!" He headed over to the refreshment table to pour Tooth a cup of hot chocolate. Tooth meanwhile fluttered around the room, examining every little toy that was being made. The sights and sounds made her heart beat in excitement. Maybe Jack had bewitched the air, and that's why things felt so cheery in here.

"Tooth! Come down here!" North shouted, breaking Tooth's train of thought. She buzzed down happily and took the small cup in her hands and took a sip, smiling as the warmth spread through her on the inside. She loved it.

"When will Jack be back?" Tooth asked.

North chuckled. "You know how he is. Here one moment, gone the next."

Tooth grinned.

"That boy is the master of being here when he's not needed, but disappearing when he is."

Tooth laughed. "That's true."

"So feel free to make yourself comfortable." North said, turning back to his toy factory. Tooth smiled and buzzed around the shop, finishing her hot chocolate. She set the empty cup on the refreshments table and took one final look around the shop before flying back out into the hallways. At the very least, maybe she'd be able to take a look around the place while she waited for Jack to return.

Tooth opened every door and peeked inside, sometimes finding an empty room, sometimes finding one filled with things that weren't used anymore. She even found a room filled with what looked like reject toys. Some of them looked to be the work of Jack Frost himself by how fun, yet how dangerous they looked.

Tooth giggled and shut the door, heading for the next one. As soon as she put her hand on the doorknob, she froze, immediately getting the feeling that this room was special. She hadn't felt such a cold doorknob before...

She turned the handle and pushed into the room, hearing the soft crunch of ice as the hinges moved.

Tooth breathed in softly. This was Jack's room. Tooth knew it from the moment she saw it. Everything was ice. Even the bed, which was a pile of fluffy snow. Tooth knew that this was the room Jack stayed in during the winter months before he headed south. He probably thought of it as his second home.

The air was chilly and crisp. It smelled just like Jack himself. Tooth closed the door and flew into the room, examining every little crystallized shape in the room.

Several glittering figurines caught her eye. They rested on top of an empty dresser that was made of ice. They were small figurines of people. Tooth picked a small, fat one up and turned it over in her hands, feeling how nice and cool it was. They weren't melting much to her joy. Jack had probably put some sort of spell on them so they wouldn't.

"Oh Jack!" Tooth gasped, the second she recognized the figure. It was Sandy. And if Tooth was correct, Jack had carved every single one of the Guardians out of his glittering ice and set them on his dresser. They were _beautiful_. She found a figurine of herself, smiling at the attention to detail. He'd even included paper thin wings on her back. Each individual feather had been carved with such intricacy that it took her breath away. She hovered over the figures, taking in each and every angle she could.

Then she saw the icy sparkle behind the dresser.

Tooth pushed the piece of furniture out slightly so she could reach down and grab it. She smiled slightly, only this time she felt sort of confused.

It was another figurine, this one of a little girl with long, straight hair. She had big, bright eyes and a smile on her face. Tooth didn't know who this was, but judging by the care and time Jack had put into it, it was someone important to him.

"Tooth? When did..."

Tooth turned around, seeing Jack standing in the doorway. She hadn't heard him come in. She smiled, opening her mouth to say something when she noticed the dark expression on his face. The room suddenly grew very, very cold.

Jack stormed over and snatched the figure out of her hands so violently, she nearly fell out of the air.

"Get out, Tooth." He growled, his eyes filled with anger.

Tooth flinched and held up her hands. "Jack, I-"

"GET OUT!"

Tooth turned and flew from the room, faintly hearing the sound of the door slamming shut as she whipped around the corner and away from Jack and his terrifying anger.


	8. Chapter 8: Haunts from the Past

**A/N: Ummm...some of you didn't like the events of last chapter, the rest of you freaked out...**

**Can I say I'm sorry? ^^;**

**Anyway, hopefully this chapter will clear things up in regards to Jack's...um...outburst...**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

Summer of Frost

Chapter 8: Haunts from the Past

Tooth couldn't stop shaking. She could still hear the shrill sound of Jack's voice in her ears.

_GET OUT!_

Tooth squeezed her eyes shut, on the verge of crying from the shock of it. She'd hoped to see Jack's smiling face, not receive his anger. Tooth didn't even know the joyful spirit of winter _could_ get angry. Was he upset that she'd been in his room? Or was it the fact that she was snooping through his treasures? Tooth knew she shouldn't have been in his room. But the second she'd seen it, she couldn't help herself. She had to know what Jack kept.

And look where that got her. It got her in trouble with Jack. She could now safely say that he probably hated her.

"Tooth?"

Tooth looked up, taking a moment to remember who she was looking at.

North gazed steadily at her, his brows knitting together in concern. "Is everything all right?" He asked.

Tooth merely shrugged.

"Did you find Jack?"

"I... uh... yeah..." Tooth murmured.

"Oh? He hasn't come to say hello to me yet..." North rubbed his beard in confusion. "Is he all right?"

"I...don't know." Tooth whispered.

North frowned. "Did he say anything?"

_GET OUT!_

Tooth shivered and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Tooth?"

"It's my fault..." She whispered. "I was in his room and he yelled at me..."

"He yelled at you for being in his room?" North frowned. "That doesn't sound like Jack at all... He's caught Bunny in there once and he just threw snowballs at him until he left. Not even in anger. Were you... doing anything?"

"I... Found a figurine behind his dresser..." Tooth said softly. "I wasn't sure what it was, but he pulled it from my hand and told me to get out."

_No,_ Tooth thought. _He ripped it from my hand and yelled at me to get out._

"I see..." North nodded, his blue eyes soft with concern. "I'll go talk to him."

Tooth nodded slowly. "Okay."

...

Jack sat on his bed, his arms around his knees, his staff right beside him. His ice blue eyes were distant, gazing unseeingly in the direction of the tiny ice figure of the young girl with straight hair. It was rested on his pillow, propped up and facing him, her smiling features sparkling in the faint light.

A soft tap on his door didn't jar him from his position. Nor did he jump. He barely moved as the door opened and North stepped in.

"Jack?"

The white haired boy gave no sign that he'd even heard North's voice.

"Jack Frost." The Russian man approached the quiet boy, slightly unnerved by the sight of his blank, expressionless face. He placed his hand on Jack's shoulder. Instantly, the boy flinched as if North had struck him, and his muscles remained stiff even after the hand had been removed.

"Jack, what's wrong?" North asked, kneeling down. "Tooth told me you got upset..."

Jack's blue eyes had gone hard as rock, cold as ice and as unfriendly as a storm. The sight of them sent an unpleasant chill down the Guardian's spine.

"Jack, tell me what's wrong." North stated. "You're never like this."

Jack still remained stiff and still, his normally joyful blue eyes dark with anger. How could Jack possibly ever get angry? The Guardian of Fun had no place inside him for anger! No place for hate, fear or even sadness. So why now?

North turned his gaze from Jack to the glimmering figurine on his pillow. That was what Jack was so focused on. North's eyes softened as he reached out for the sculpture.

"Jack, who is this?" He asked.

His hand got within one inch of the figure and Jack moved so fast, North didn't see him move. In half a second, Jack had snatched the figure up, taken its place, and pointed his glowing staff directly at North's face. North took a few steps back, his eyes widening as they met Jack's cold, dark and icy ones.

"Don't touch her!" Jack snarled.

"Jack, I-" North began to realize that there would be no reasoning with the Spirit of Winter. There would be no talking sense into him. Something inside him had snapped and shattered, marring the Guardian's normally cheery exterior. The boy in front of him was some kind of dark, broken echo of Jack Frost. A part of him he never let anyone see. Something so dark, so full of pain and hate and anger that it crippled him and made him forget just who and what he was.

"Get out!" Jack shouted, an icy wind whipping through the room.

North wasted no time. He turned and left the room, leaving Jack alone to deal with whatever shadow had taken over.

...

"Is he okay?" Tooth asked the second she saw North step back into the room.

North shook his head. "I don't know what happened to him, Tooth." He said honestly. "He's... something snapped. I don't know what happened to him."

"It was the figurine..." Tooth whispered. "I don't know who it is, but..."

North nodded. "I tried to ask who it was, but I barely got within one inch of it. He pointed his staff at me."

Tooth gasped. "No..."

North nodded grimly. "He's not the Jack we knew. He's... something else. I don't know what happened to him."

Tooth nodded slowly. She sat down on the couch, her wings going silent behind her. Did Jack have haunts? He'd only recently learned about what had happened to him before he became the Spirit of Winter. Was there something that had happened to him all those years ago?

Tooth gasped as she remembered the day he'd brought her home after she'd been struck by lightning. He'd been having a nightmare before he woke up.

"You know something." North observed.

Tooth nodded slowly. "He... has nightmares whenever he sleeps. I don't know what it is, but..." She trailed off.

"Something from his past maybe?"

Tooth nodded. "Yeah. Maybe."

North took a breath and sighed. "Do you have any idea who the girl is? The figurine?"

Tooth shook her head. "No. I don't know."

He sighed. "Hopefully he'll get over this... whatever it is."

The fairy nodded her head. "Yeah."

...

Jack ran his thumb across the face of the figure in front of him. The truth was, he'd forgotten he'd created it. The sight of it sitting on his dresser caused him pain, so he'd thrown it behind the dresser so he wouldn't have to look at it. He hadn't expected to see it again.

"Lily..." Jack murmured, running his thumb over the ice hair.

He'd been sitting there for a day or so. He couldn't remember exactly how long it had been.

There was a soft knock on the door. Jack looked over towards it, suddenly feeling a weight pinning him down. He wanted to curl up into a corner and never think again.

"Jack? Can I come in?"

It was Tooth.

"Sure..." Jack said, his voice faint.

The door opened an in flew the Tooth Fairy. Her eyes went from his tired looking face to the ice figure in his hands.

Tooth hovered over and sat down beside him. "You okay?" She asked.

"I don't know." Jack stated, staring at the ice figure.

Tooth stayed silent for a few moments, letting Jack get lost in his thoughts once more. She watched him steadily, waiting for some sort of hint to tell her he was ready to talk.

And then, Jack sighed and set the figure by his pillow. He contemplated it for a moment before picking it back up again and looking like he wanted to put it somewhere else, but he didn't know where.

"Who is she, Jack?" Tooth asked.

Jack didn't take his eyes off the ice sculpture as he once again ran his thumb across the face.

"Lily." Jack said.

Tooth placed an arm around his shoulders and leaned against him. To her surprise, he leaned into her in return.

"She's my sister." He said softly.

"What happened to her?" Tooth asked.

"I don't know!" Jack cried, his voice turning harsh.

"S-Sorry..." Tooth removed her arm and tried to lean away from him, but Jack's icy hand stopped her, making her gasp.

"No, I'm sorry." Jack sighed. "I never meant to yell at you."

"It's all right." Tooth put her arm back around him.

"It's just..." He sighed, staring down at the figurine. "I don't know what happened to her after I fell into the lake."

"You fell into a lake?" Tooth asked.

Jack nodded. "Before I became Jack Frost. My sister was going to fall through the ice and I rescued her. I pulled her out of the way, but I fell through myself. And I drowned. Man in the Moon chose me and I came back as Jack Frost."

Tooth squeezed him gently, hearing his voice crack slightly.

"I...don't know what happened to her..." He whispered.

Tooth watched a tear run down his face, freezing as it fell down. It formed a tiny icicle on his chin. He brushed it off quickly.

"And you're bothered by it." Tooth stated.

Jack nodded and sniffed heavily. "All I can remember of her is her scream as I fell through the ice. I never saw what happened afterwards. But she never saw me again." He sniffed again, wiping his eye. "I just wish she could've seen me so she knew I was okay..."

"Jack..."

"I'd forgotten she even existed, Tooth!" Jack cried, raising his hand to stop the tears from flowing down his face but gave up. Instead, Tooth reached over and brushed the freezing tears from his cheeks.

"There's nothing you could've done, Jack..." She whispered. "There was nothing..."

"And that's why I feel horrible!" Jack cried, shrugging off her arm and turning away from her. "Every time I sleep, I dream about that day. I feel the ice breaking beneath me. I hear her scream, and I feel the icy water crushing the life out of me..."

Tooth placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched but didn't move away.

"Jack, if you're so worried about your sister, maybe..." She sighed. "I'm not supposed to do this, but I can go find your sisters teeth."

Jack turned, his blue eyes hopeful.

"If I can get it open, I'll show you her memories, okay?"

Jack smiled slightly, icicles frozen to his eyelashes. He looked strangely cute, but at the same time it was sad.

"I'd like that." He said.

Tooth smiled and reached over, gently brushing the ice from his eyes. He flinched slightly and closed his eyes, wiping the ice off them himself. He sniffed again and blinked several times.

"Sorry." He said.

Tooth shook her head and picked a final piece of ice from the corner of his eye. "Don't worry about it." She said. "Just know that you can come to me anytime you need to."

Jack smiled his first genuine smile since finding Tooth holding the figure of his sister.

"Thanks, Tooth." He said.

"You're welcome." Without thinking, she reached out and brushed a lock of his fluffy white hair out of his eye. Jack went cross-eyed for a moment as he followed her fingers, but as soon as she removed her hand, his cheeks flushed blue. He smiled weakly at her and slid towards the edge of the bed. He stood up and stepped over to his ice figurines and placed the sculpture of his sister among the ones of the Guardians. Tooth hovered over behind him and rested her hands on his shoulder, smiling at the sparkling figures.

"They're beautiful." She said softly.

"Thank you." Jack said.

"I'm almost curious as to how you did it."

"It's not hard when you can control ice." Jack said with a shrug.

"So you didn't carve them?"

"In a way I did." Jack said, running a hand through his hair. "I just told the ice what shape to take."

Tooth nodded, examining every last one of them again. "I'm guessing some of them were easier than others?"

Jack nodded. His eyes lingered on Tooth's figurine for a moment. She had taken him at least five tries to get right, and even now, he still wasn't happy with how it turned out.

...

Tooth had flown back to the palace as soon as she made sure Jack was all right. He'd told her he was fine, but deep down, he still felt overwhelming guilt. He'd threatened North, the Guardian who he considered his father figure. As much as he wanted to fly back to the Tooth Palace and find out whether Tooth had found his sisters teeth, he had to talk to North first.

Jack pushed open the doors to North's workshop. As per usual, the Russian man was wandering around, checking up on his yetis and making sure they were working. Taking a deep breath, Jack propped his staff up on his shoulder and walked straight up to North.

The Russian turned and spotted him, stopping dead in his tracks. His eyes scanned Jack's face for a second before breaking into a smile.

"Jack Frost! Nice to see you again!"

Jack was slightly hurt by North's second of uneasiness. He tried not to show it. "Sorry, North. I... Life kind of hit me hard."

"I could tell." North stated, clapping him on the shoulder. "Ah well, I forgive you. We all have our bad days."

Jack nodded slowly.

"I suppose you'd want to be running along now, eh?" North said with a grin.

"Yeah." Jack stated. "I'll see you again soon enough I guess."

North chuckled. "Run along, Jack."

Jack grinned and waved, turning and heading out of the workshop. He sighed in relief, glad that North didn't blame him for his moment of foolishness. Jack vowed to never feel that angry again, no matter what happened.

He closed the door to North's house behind him and leapt into the air, flying back in the direction of the Tooth Palace. Along the way, he froze a few lakes and dropped a bit of snow on some of the northern latitudes to bring himself back into focus. He was Jack Frost after all. He couldn't afford to be angry. He was the Guardian of Fun, and fun was his first priority.

Jack smiled to himself as he spotted the Tooth Palace in the distance. He spun into a corkscrew and shot through the window. Mini fairies squeaked their surprise and welcomed him back as he wandered through the halls. He scanned the area, searching for Tooth. He spotted her almost immediately, fluttering among the higher areas of the library. He flew up to hover next to her.

"Find it yet?" He asked.

Tooth shook her head. "No. I always lose track of old teeth..." She sighed. "Cataloguing wasn't as good back then as it is now."

Jack nodded. "Are you asking the mini fairies?"

Tooth shook her head. "They have enough work to do." She fingered through her notes. "I just have to find you before I can find your sister, because chances are, she'll be close to yours if not right beside it."

Jack nodded.

"Can you maybe find your own teeth?"

Jack shrugged. "Maybe. I'll go look around." He hovered among the stacks of puzzle boxes that held hundreds upon thousands of teeth. He'd only ever found his teeth before because the memories were calling out to him. If he could hear his memories again, maybe he could find them. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, feeling very, very stupid as he did so. What, did he expect to find them using mental powers? No, that was complete foolishness.

Jack opened his eyes, and for some reason, he knew where to go. He flew downwards instead of upwards and headed down the stairs of the library into a lower area. He faintly heard the sound of Tooth's buzzing wings following him.

"Checking the basement?" Tooth asked.

Jack nodded and began scanning the area.

"I was going to come here too. This is where most of the old teeth are." She sighed, looking down into the depths of the lower library. "Lots to search for..." She murmured.

Jack flew downwards towards the bottom. Tooth followed him as he flew. He scanned the old tarnished boxes, searching for one that stood out among the many others. And only one had a golden glow around it. Jack hovered towards it and ran his fingers across the boy with brown hair. He'd found his teeth.

"You found it..." Tooth whispered. "I didn't think... Ah, I should've known..." She sighed and began floating up the row, searching for Jack's sister's teeth.

Jack ran his thumb across the slightly tarnished box, remembering the last time he'd held it. He'd given it back to Tooth and the mini fairies had taken it back to its rightful place.

"Found it!" Tooth cried.

Jack looked up quickly, seeing her removing the box from the wall. She flew it over to Jack and held it up, showing him the picture on the side.

"That's her..." Jack whispered, gently touching the picture. "That's Lily..."

Tooth smiled. "I'll try to get it open for you, okay?" She stated. "Normally only the child can open their box, but I might be able to bend some rules, being the Tooth Fairy."

"Shouldn't you be able to open the box at any time?"

"Only when the child is still losing teeth." Tooth stated. "Once they lose their last tooth, the box closes and seals itself until the child breaks the seal once more."

Jack nodded. "Fair enough."

"And Jack?"

"Hm?"

"If you ever want to see the rest of your memories, feel free to look, okay?"

Jack chuckled. "To be honest, I don't think I really want to..."

"Well you never know." She removed Jack's tooth box from the wall and held it out to him. "Someday, you might want to find out more about yourself."

Jack took the box and stuck it in his pocket. "Fair enough."

Tooth smiled. "Are you going to stay for a little longer?"

Jack fingered the box in his pocket, considering that for a moment.

"I think I might." Jack said.

Tooth nodded. "All right. Stay as long as you'd like."

"Thanks, Tooth."

"Don't worry about it."

The two of them turned and flew back up and out of the library. Jack contemplated the fluttering fairies for a moment, his fingers still running across the smooth surface of his tooth box. Maybe, just maybe he should go see the rest of his memories... But he didn't have any need for inspiration. He was feeling okay. No, he'd best leave the box alone until he really needed to view his past.

.

.

.

**A/N: Just a quick note: I feel kind of bad about this chapter because people have abused the Jack Frost and his Sister headcanon. I wrote this chapter (and the last one) long before I realized it had become an epidemic. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Of course, I couldn't completely remove the plot points because it's kind of...significant later...Okay not really but still XD**

**Anyway, this is the first and last time I'm EVER going to use that headcanon.**

**I hope you continue to enjoy the story ^^**

**~Silver**


	9. Chapter 9: Winter's Calling

Summer of Frost

Chapter 9: Winter's Calling

September became October, and soon enough, Jack was dropping snow wherever he could. He was excited to finally be able to bring snow to Jamie. But Jack knew that time wouldn't be coming until November or December at the very least.

Every day, Jack would find a new place to bring cold and snow as he crept further south with every day. Sometimes an area would already be at freezing, allowing him to swoop in and cover the area with ice and snow. However, by the next day the temperature would go up again and all of his efforts would've been in vain. He hated that.

As October became November, Jack struggled to get to Burgess. The weather was still far too warm for snow. It would only rain if he tried to make it snow now. Sighing, Jack collapsed against a tree and thumbed his staff as ice and frost snaked out around him. He just wanted to go home. Go back to Burgess. Was that too much to ask? He idly ran his fingers across the tooth box that was still in his pocket. He was tempted to watch his memories just to kill time, but Jack knew that would just be foolish. After all, the memories would only take half a second to ingrain themselves in his mind so he remembered. It wasn't like watching a movie where you saw every little thing play out before your eyes.

Jack sighed and stood up. Maybe it was time to return to the North Pole for a few days. Jack knew North was working hard as Christmas fast approached, but there was only so much Jack Frost could do in a day. As soon as he got to Burgess, he'd be spending a lot of time away from North's house and a lot more time with Jamie.

...

North seemed to have two things on his mind all of a sudden.

Jack observed how he was constantly stressing over the toys, yet pouring over a list in his hands, scratching stuff out as he muttered furiously to himself.

"North?" Jack approached the big man cautiously.

North jumped slightly. "Jack Frost!" He said with a smile. "How's the weather coming?"

"It's getting colder." Jack stated. "What are you doing?" He examined the clipboard in his hand.

North yanked it away. "No, no. Top secret." He winked cheekily, a grin on his face. "Although if you want to find out, you're welcome to come to my annual New Year's party on December 31st."

"The Guardians have a New Year's party?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not!" North laughed. "All of the spirits of the world are invited and welcome to come!"

"There's more?"

"Of course, Jack!" North laughed again. "There are other holidays people celebrate, and many more spirits that inhabit this world!"

"Why haven't I seen any of them before?" Jack asked.

"They keep to themselves most of the time. Nothing to worry about. But everyone loves the New Year's party. It's the only time we can all get together peacefully and enjoy time together."

"Sounds like fun." Jack stated, although the mere thought of being stuck in North's house with a bunch of other spirits made him twitchy. "Although I have to ask," he grinned. "Why wasn't I invited until now?"

North laughed again. "Technically speaking you were! It was just that nobody could ever get into contact with you to tell you!"

Jack grinned. "Am I that hard to track down?"

"Extremely." North chuckled. "You only got easier to find after you became a Guardian, mostly because you spend a lot more time here instead of out there."

"Well then how did Bunny find me that day he practically kidnapped me?"

"If anyone could find you, Bunny could. Nose like a bloodhound I tell you." He chuckled again.

Jack laughed.

"Where are you off to now, Jack?" North asked. "Going somewhere?"

"Burgess." Jack stated.

"Of course. Say hello to little Jamie for me."

Jack smiled. "I will, as soon as I get there. Unfortunately the weather is still too warm for me down there."

"Well the way I see it, there's only one way to cool it down faster."

"Snow." Jack muttered. "Unfortunately it's getting harder and harder to make it in southern latitudes."

North nodded slowly. "Well good luck to you, Jack Frost. I'm afraid I have to get back to work now."

Jack grinned. "Good luck on your party."

"Thank you. I hope to see you there."

"You can probably expect it." Jack propped his staff up on his shoulder and waved goodbye, heading back out of the workshop and out the front door into the icy, arctic wind.

...

Tooth stared furiously at the little tooth box in her hands. Every free moment she had, she would fly up to her room to examine the box, searching for ways to open it. Tooth knew that if it had been her tooth box she was trying to open, she'd be able to do it with a touch of her hand. She also knew that once the box sealed, it was locked with magic and opening it again would be quite difficult. The only way she could possibly get the box open would be if she could break the spell on it. And Tooth knew that would just be a struggle.

Tooth set the box down on her bedside table and sighed, fluttering into the air and heading back downstairs. She wanted to make Jack feel better by showing him the memories. She hoped that maybe, just maybe the memories contained inside the box would ease his guilt. But at the same time, it could make him feel much, much worse.

...

Jack spent the night staring up at the moon. Fluffy snow flitted down from the sky around him, some of it landing on his shoulders and in his hair, reflecting the moons light and making the boy look brighter than he really was. After a moment, his eyes lit up and Jack Frost got to his feet. He leapt off the tree and flew through the silent night.

The weather had cooled down in another area of the world, this time, it was closer to Burgess. He had to get there as soon as he could. He wanted to go home. He wanted to return to the one place that made him feel good. He wanted to stay there and never leave, but he knew that someday, summer would slowly snake back towards him, forcing him back up north.

Jack laughed as he flew through the air, snow scattering in every direction as he flew. He slid down a river as it froze solid at his touch. He leapt into the air, frost creeping across the trees. Snow fluttered down from the sky as he flew. Maybe he should make another snowstorm this year, give Jamie a snow day...

Arriving as far south as he could go for the day, Jack settled back into a tree, sighing in disappointment. He hadn't made it to Burgess. At this rate, he wouldn't get there until December...

...

He was right.

Jack tried as hard as he could, but he still failed to bring snow down south. He was getting frustrated, and pretty soon, he found himself back at the Tooth Palace.

Tooth watched as Jack sulked through the front doors, his head bowed in defeat.

"Jack?" Tooth flew down towards him. "You okay?"

"I can't make it snow, Tooth..." Jack sighed. "I'm trying so hard, but I can't get to Burgess..."

Tooth reached over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Jack took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "I just want to go home..."

"I know you do, Jack..." Tooth pulled him into a warm hug. He hugged her back. "And you'll go home someday..."

But Jack didn't feel so confident anymore. He was failing himself. Failing Burgess. Failing Jamie. The mere thought of not being able to make it snow back home caused him more pain than he'd ever felt in his life.

Tooth led Jack up to his room at the top of the tower. Jack flopped down on his bed and faced away from Tooth. She hovered over and sat down beside him, gently stroking his soft hair. Jack took a deep breath and sighed softly, his eyes closing.

"You're Jack Frost." Tooth said softly. "If anyone can make it snow, it's you."

"Hm..." Jack murmured. "Thanks Tooth..."

Tooth smiled, staring down at the boy's relaxed face. She knew he wasn't sleeping. Spirits only slept when they had great need of it, and Jack was only disappointed and angry at himself. Tooth was sure he'd like to sleep, but he wouldn't be able to.

Jack remained very still as Tooth continued to run her fingers through his hair. It felt nice. She was gentle and her hand was warm. It made him feel as if there was someone in the world who didn't hate him, even though he was a complete and utter failure. Someone still cared about him, and that made him feel good.

"I'll make it snow, Tooth..." He murmured, his voice distant.

"Yes you will." Tooth replied, her finger running across the curve of his ear, making him shiver slightly. "I know you will, Jack. And you'll go home to Burgess, and you'll see Jamie, and Sophie and you'll have so much fun."

Jack smiled to himself, his eyes opening to smile up at her. "Yeah. We will have fun." He stated. Then he lay his head back down, letting Tooth continue her ministrations on his hair.

...

Jack wasn't sure when Tooth had left. When he opened his eyes again, he found the place Tooth had been sitting empty. He couldn't remember whether it had all been a dream, or if he'd fallen asleep. Although he was sure he hadn't fallen asleep. He'd sort of...fallen into a sort of limbo in which he'd forgotten everything around him. He'd forgotten everything except himself, Tooth, and the way her fingers ran through his hair. Jack guessed she'd left awhile ago, judging by how cold the spot beside him was. Jack figured he'd gotten so used to feeling Tooth's touch that as soon as it had stopped, it still felt like it was there.

Jack shook himself and sighed, standing up. He'd been here too long. He had to get back to work. Jack headed out the door and down the stairs, feeling strangely...calm. It was as if a storm he didn't know existed had calmed itself and now his mind was just... clear. He had nothing to think about, and nothing to really feel. He just felt... relaxed.

Tooth smiled brightly when Jack stepped into the library once more. She flew down to meet him, hovering in front of him.

"Hey, how are you doing?" She asked.

"I have no idea." Jack stated, running a hand through his hair. "It just feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

Tooth smiled. "That's good. Think you can make it snow in Burgess now?"

Jack grinned. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I can."

"Well, go then." She grinned. "Fly away, Snowflake."

Jack felt his cheeks grow cold when she used the pet name. He still didn't have a good one for her... or did he?

Jack headed for the door and pushed it open. "See you later then, Rainbow!"

He was gone before Tooth could even react to it.

...

As the moon rose over the town of Burgess, clouds blocked out its light, and for the first time that year, the snow fell in large flakes. Laughter bubbled from Jack Frost's throat as he flew over the town, frost forming across windows and front lawns as the snow fell silently in the quiet night.

Jack landed on a rooftop, grinning at the falling snow. Finally, he was home. He was back in Burgess. It was late, and Jack knew that Jamie would already be sleeping, but that didn't stop him from once again, leaping into the air and flying towards his friend's house.

Jamie was the first child who ever believed in him. The first child to see him and welcome him with open arms. He'd introduced all of his friends to him, and now, Jack had a large circle of believers in Burgess. The mere thought made him smile. It was nice to have people who believed... He didn't want to be invisible ever again.

Jack landed on the windowsill of Jamie's bedroom. He squinted his eyes, trying to see inside. And there he was. Jack saw Jamie fast asleep in his bed, his mouth open in a snore he couldn't hear. Judging from the gaps in his mouth, he'd also lost a few more teeth since Jack had last seen him.

Jack gently tapped Jamie's window, smiling as the floral frost crept across the surface. When it had formed, Jack took his finger and swiped it through the frost, carving letters backwards and mirrored into the frosted glass so Jamie would be able to read it in the morning.

_I'm back!_

_-J.F._

Jack smiled at his handiwork and leapt off the windowsill and flew into the air once again. He waved his staff towards the sky, and the heavens opened up, dropping the snow in a thick blanket over the town of Burgess. Jack laughed and flew back into the sky, leaving his home behind to bring snow to other areas of the world. He froze lakes, rivers and ponds and scattered birds with a cold blasts of wind. He knocked the few remaining leaves off the trees and dropped a thin layer of frost in places that couldn't snow.

By the end of his escapade, Jack was back in Burgess as the sun began to creep over the horizon. Jack sat on the roof of Jamie's house, waiting, listening...

"SNOW DAY!" An ecstatic voice shouted from across the street. A little girl shot out of her house and began making snow angels while her brother began making snowballs and throwing them at stop signs.

Jack heard the creak of Jamie's window opening.

"Jack?" A voice asked timidly.

Jack grinned and leapt off the roof, hovering in front of the window. "Heyya, kiddo."

A toothless grin crossed Jamie's face. "JACK!" He cried happily, nearly falling out the window. Jack caught him and set him back in his bedroom.

"Take it easy, Jamie." Jack said. "I think it's a snow day today. Grab your friends and head out to the hill. I'll meet you guys there."

Jamie grinned broadly. "Okay! I'll see you there!"

Jack's guess was confirmed right as nobody lined up to go to school. The white haired boy cheered as he shot through the sky, heading for the snow hill Jamie had hung around all winter last year. He landed on the small tree at the top and proceeded to sit calmly, waiting for Jamie to arrive.

Jack didn't have to wait long.

Jamie and his friends rushed to the top of the hill, tripping and stumbling through the thick snow. Even Cupcake was there. Jack leapt out of the tree, greeted immediately by the group of children. He was pestered with questions from 'How's Santa doing?' to 'Is Pitch still around?' to various other things such as why it took him so long to bring snow this year. Jack did his best to answer all of the questions, but he wormed out of the interrogation by pushing one of the kids into a snow bank.

The result was instantaneous.

The snowball fight started quickly, and Jack was pelted with snowball after snowball. Blue sparkles danced in front of the children's eyes as they laughed and ice cold snow dripped down the backs of their necks.

Jack was suddenly tackled from behind. He cried out as he rolled straight down the hill, tangled up with whatever kid had knocked him down. When they rolled, laughing hard, to a stop, Jack looked up to see Jamie grinning from ear to ear. He should've known...

"Hey! What's this?" He said suddenly, reaching into the snow beside Jack. His heart nearly stopped at the sight of the gleaming golden box.

"Oh that." Jack took it from him. "This is something very special to me, Jamie."

"What is it?" Jamie asked.

"My teeth." Jack stated.

"Huh?" He looked flabbergasted.

Jack laughed. "When the Tooth Fairy takes your teeth, she puts them into a box just like this." Jack stated. "And she keeps them safe, because your teeth hold the most precious memories you will ever have."

Jamie nodded, his eyes wide with wonder.

"So, when you're an old fart like me-"

Jamie laughed. "You're not old!"

"I so am! I'm so old, my hair is white!"

Jamie shrieked with laughter. "Jack's an old fart!"

"As I was saying, Jamie Bennett,"

Jamie shut up immediately when Jack used his full name.

"When you grow up, things sometimes can get really difficult. So when you need it most, the Tooth Fairy returns your teeth so you can remember who you were as a child, and you can take inspiration from your childhood."

Jamie nodded. "So you were in a pinch? And that's why she gave your teeth back?"

"Well not exactly, but yes."

"That's cool... Will she give them back to me now?"

Jack shook his head. "No. Not until you have great need of them." He stood up. "Now, let's go sledding!"

Jamie grinned and nodded, showing no sign of remembering anything Jack had just told him. The Spirit of Winter knew that someday Jamie would forget what he'd just told him. Someday, Jamie Bennett would forget his entire childhood as it was replaced by the grim, stressful world of adulthood. Jack could only hope that the memories held inside Jamie's teeth would be enough to pull him from any struggle he would face in the future.

Jack smiled as he climbed the hill beside Jamie. The children were already sliding. Jamie protested this, claiming he should get an extra run so it was fair. Jack laughed, watching them play. He iced the hill a few times, making their sleds go faster. And while they had fun, Jack had enough time to admire each and every one of them, feeling a slight tinge of envy at their innocence, their purity. Hell knows the world could end tomorrow, and they'd still be playing happily and without worry.

And that, was why Jack Frost vowed to never grow up, even if he was stuck forever in the body of a teenage boy no matter how many years passed.


	10. Chapter 10: The Gift of Friendship

Summer of Frost

Chapter 10: The Gift of Friendship

Jamie had yanked out his latest loose tooth that day. He was holding it like a trophy, grinning through gaps in his teeth. The first tooth he lost had mostly grown back, and a second one was half in along with a third. Jamie had been suffering so much with the pain the fourth tooth had given him that Jack had actually used snow to numb the gum while Jamie ripped it out. The other kids had turned away as he did this, but Jamie looked relieved the second he got the tooth out.

"Now maybe I can actually eat now..." He murmured, staring at the tooth.

"Was it that bad?" Jack asked.

"You said your teeth were in that box." Jamie said. "Does that mean you lost teeth too? Were you a child like me?"

"I was." Jack stated. "With a sister, and a family..." He trailed off.

"Do you remember losing teeth?"

"A little."

"Will it get worse?"

"I do remember chewing on leather to get my molars out." Jack stated.

"Leather?" Jamie made a disgusted face.

"Well, that's what we had when I was your age. Leather and fur. That's what we wore."

"You're ancient."

Jack laughed. "I'm around three hundred years old."

"You're _really_ ancient..."

"Old Fart, right?"

Jamie laughed.

With a grin, Jack messed up the boy's hair, making Jamie smile toothlessly again. "Guess the Tooth Fairy is coming tonight, huh?"

Jamie nodded. "Guess so. Guess that means you know each other?"

Jack felt his cheeks grow cold for a moment. "Yes. We're friends."

A knowing smile crossed Jamie's face. Jack felt himself go pale when he realized what Jamie was referencing.

"You like her, don't you?!" Jamie cried.

"N-No, Jamie, I-"

"Jack and the Tooth Fairy, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"JAMIE!" Jack couldn't bring himself to laugh for once in a lifetime. He knew the boy was just kidding, but he couldn't help but feel almost... upset.

"Oh... Sorry, Jack..." Jamie bit his lip nervously. "I... guess I'll go home now..." He stood up and took his leave.

Jack didn't stop him, his head bowing into his chest.

...

Tooth found Jack seated on Jamie's roof that night.

"Oh!" She cried in surprise. "I didn't expect... or maybe I did..."

"Tooth." Jack held up a hand, quieting her. He sighed heavily.

"What's got you down?" Tooth asked, hovering over to him.

"Jamie...thinks I hate him."

"Why?"

"He made a joke, and I took it a little offensively..."

"Did you try talking to him?"

Jack nodded. "He's upset too."

Tooth nodded and flew through Jamie's window. The boy was already fast asleep, a few tears staining his cheeks. There was a large wet spot on his pillow that still hadn't dried yet. With a sigh, Tooth slid her hand under the boy's pillow and pulled out the tooth, replacing it with a coin. Running her fingers across the tooth, she flew back outside to where Jack waited. Her eyebrows were raised in amusement.  
"Frost, Jack?" She held up the tooth.

"Oh. Yeah. The tooth was bugging him so I numbed his gum so he could pull it out." Jack said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

Tooth smirked. "All right." She said. Then she sighed. "Jamie's not doing so well. It looks like he cried himself to sleep."

Guilt crossed Jack's face at that moment.

"What was he joking about, Jack?"

Jack shook his head, his cheeks turning slightly blue.

Tooth nodded. "Okay. Should I leave you here, or are you going to come back with me?"

Jack shrugged.

"You're going to sit here all night, aren't you?"

"If I can, yes." Jack stated.

Tooth made a face, telling Jack that she wasn't happy about that.

"What?" Jack asked.

"You know very well what." Tooth stated.

"I want to apologize to Jamie. I want him to know I don't hate him..."

"And I understand that. But sitting here sulking isn't going to solve anything, Jack."

"Then what can I do?"

Tooth smiled. "Come back with me for a bit, okay Jack?"

Jack sighed but nodded, standing up. "Okay."

"You can talk to Jamie later."

"I know."

"And he'll never hate you. You know that?"

"I know."

Tooth smiled warmly and gently touched his cheek. His blue eyes darted to her face for a moment, his cheeks flushing that pale blue colour before his eyes darted away. Tooth removed her hand and flew into the sky. The whoosh of wind through clothing told her that Jack was following close behind.

As they flew into the winter night, Tooth mused over the fact that she'd never heard Jack so quiet in her life. It was both disturbing and sad. It made her want to pull him close and hug him until he could smile again...

"Jack?" Tooth piped up.

"Hm?"

She was surprised he'd responded. She hadn't exactly had a reply ready in case he had responded.

Jack flew up beside her, his blue eyes still filled with sadness from the events that had just occurred. Tooth decided that he needed a happier thought.

"Are you coming to North's New Year's party this year?" She asked.

"North already invited me, so yes, I'm going."

Tooth grinned. "That's great!"

Jack smiled back, his eyes glittering slightly.

"There's my Jack." Tooth said, her smile growing from delighted to gentle. "You look best when you smile."

Jack's cheeks turned blue again and he looked away quickly. Tooth giggled.

"I'm guessing you've gone to the party every year?" Jack said, his voice surprisingly steady.

Tooth nodded. "Every year since I first met North and was invited. He does something different every year. I don't even know how he comes up with these things..."

"With what?"

"Last year, the theme for the party was 'colours'," she did the air quotes. "The thing is, he comes up with a theme, and leaves the rest up to interpretation. Like, when he says the theme is 'spring' you can wear something floral, or green, or-"

"Cover yourself in mud?"

Tooth burst out laughing. "Oh Jack!"

"What? That's what happens when the snow melts!"

Tooth laughed so hard she nearly fell from the sky. Jack had to catch her and hold her up so she didn't fall. He started laughing too, barely able to hold the fairy up. He flew down towards the ground and set her down where she rolled in the snow, shrieking with uncontrollable laughter.

"What's so funny?!" Jack cried, laughing himself.

"I-I-I-" She burst out laughing again, tears running down her face. The mere sight of it drove Jack over the edge. He laughed harder and fell to the ground, rolling around beside Tooth who was still chortling.

They laughed until their stomachs hurt and they could no longer breathe. They laughed until the tears ran down their faces and they could laugh no more. The two of them lay in the snow, gasping for breath and letting out the occasional chuckle.

"A-All I could think about was you walking into the party covered in mud!" Tooth laughed. "Because you would totally do that!"

"Yeah," Jack agreed, grinning. "I would."

Tooth giggled again and hovered over Jack who was still lying down in the snow. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I can't believe I'm laughing while Jamie is hurting like that..." He said softly.

"Oh Jack," Tooth half groaned, realizing that the winter spirit had once again, sunk back into a depression.

"What kind of a friend am I?"

"Jack, all friends fight from time to time... it's a fact of life." Tooth stated. "Besides, you'll be able to see him tomorrow and apologize, right?"

Jack nodded slowly. "I know..."

"So, smile for me, okay Jack?"

Jack merely weakly twisted the corner of his mouth upwards.

"That's not a smile!" She scolded. "Don't make me make you smile!"

"How are you going to make me?" Jack asked, his brows furrowing.

Tooth huffed. "Like this." She whipped over to him and immediately stuck her fingers in his mouth and forced him to smile.

"Ow! Tooth, okay!" Jack cried, shaking his head. He rubbed his mouth in annoyance.

"Jack, I like it when you smile." Tooth said, landing on the snow beside Jack, her wings folding into her back. "Seeing you sad makes me feel sad too..."

Jack sat up slowly, watching her bow her head into her chest. With a sigh, Jack reached out and softly stroked the feathers on top of her head. She flinched slightly, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"W-What?" She stuttered. "W-What's that for?"

"I'm sorry." Jack said, standing up. "I just can't smile right now, Tooth."

Tooth watched him mournfully as he turned and flew off into the winter night, heading to who knows where.

"Jack..." Tooth whispered, watching his shadow disappear. "Please smile again..."

...

Jack was waiting outside Jamie's window when the boy woke again that morning. He headed off to school, waiting for the bus with a glum looking face. Jack didn't want to approach him when he was around a group of people, because he knew that talking to someone invisible made people look silly. He didn't want to embarrass Jamie.

Jack never got a moment to talk to Jamie. He stayed inside after getting home, and he did exactly the same thing the next day. Jack began to lose hope, and as he did so, the snow in Burgess began to slowly melt. Jack couldn't muster up the energy to create more snow to give the town the white Christmas it always had.

Sighing, Jack sat at the top of the tree by the sledding hill he'd met Jamie at on that snow day that felt so long ago. It had been about a week ago now, and Christmas was fast approaching. In fact, it was in a few days. As far as Jack knew, the Christmas Holidays would be starting soon, giving Jamie all the free time in the world.

Judging by the fact that he didn't come out of his house at all over the next few days proved that to Jack. The holidays had begun, and there was no sign of Jamie.

...

Jack was forced from Burgess by unnatural heat around Christmas day. Though it pained him to leave, he knew he had to. There was nothing there for him if Jamie wouldn't talk to him...

He was on North's doorstep before he even realized where he'd gone. Sighing, Jack stepped into the house and headed for the workshop. North would listen... Even though there was only about a week left until Christmas, North would listen. Jack was sure of it.

He pushed his way into the shop, glancing around at the busy yetis. There was an air of stress, yet at the same time an air of excitement as they worked. North was practically bouncing around the room with his clipboard, still writing down things for his New Year's party. Jack approached him slowly.

"Hey, North."

North looked up with a grin. "Jack Frost! I was just thinking about you!"

Jack frowned. "You were? Why?"

"I was thinking about this year's theme for the New Year's party! I figured that since it's the first time in several hundred years since we had a new Guardian, I'd base it off you!"

"Oh... North, that's not-"

"So what do you think? Make it winter themed? Lots of snow and ice?"

"North-"

"It'll be like a welcoming party!"

"Hey..."

"And this is your first New Year's party with us too! Everyone will love you! I know they will!"

"NORTH!"

North stopped talking, staring at Jack with wide eyes.

"I'm honoured, I really am, but I don't think-"

"Why?" North asked, as if he already knew what Jack was going to say.

"A party based off of me? North that's not..." Jack shook his head.

"We've never had a winter themed New Year's yet." North stated. "Why not let it happen this year?"

"Why don't we just have a Guardian themed New Year's?" Jack asked. "All five of us could put our two cents in and make something nice."

North blinked in surprise, his mouth open slightly.

"Like say, Sandy could sprinkle dream sand all over things to make it sparkle, Bunnymund could hide eggs and we could have an egg hunt, and you could decorate the place with Christmas stuff." Jack stated. "Why just focus on winter?"

North continued to blink, the shock apparent on his face.

"Uh, North?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Why didn't I think of that?!" North cried, slapping a hand to his forehead. "All these years I thought I was doing great! But no, Jack, you know your parties!" He ripped a page off his clipboard, crumpled it up and stuffed it in his pocket. He began scribbling more stuff down. "Sit, sit... Tell me all of your ideas! What would you do for this party?"

"I..." Jack frowned.

"Scratch that, how would _you_ make a simple New Year's party fun?"

"I'd probably flood the ballroom and turn it into a skating rink." Jack stated, half sarcastically.

"BRILLIANT!" North roared, scribbling it down furiously.

Jack was taken aback. Was North really that passionate about his New Year's parties?

North hummed merrily as he continued to write things down. "Would you be up to making it snow inside?"

"Uh, sure?" Jack blinked a few times, completely confused.

"I can ask Sandy to sprinkle gold sparkles down from the ceiling..."

"That would either knock everyone out, or make my snow redundant." Jack stated.

North was silent for a moment. Then he scribbled another thing out. He looked up at Jack expectantly.

"I just won't make it snow inside." Jack stated. "Sandy can rain golden sand onto the floor all night if he wants to."

"Or he can look after the fireworks display!" North cried, having a moment of brilliance.

"That works too..."

"And Tooth. What could she do?"

"Uh, I dunno."

"I'll ask her." North stated, scribbling something down. "Now Bunnymund..."

"Egg party favours. Egg fights. Egg hunts." Jack fired off dully.

"I'll ask Bunny as well..." North scribbled something else down. "Now for me..." He smiled, his eyes glinting. Jack could only hope that whatever North was writing down was group friendly and didn't involve mistletoe.

While North scribbled, Jack tried to remember what he'd come here for in the first place. He gave up after a few seconds, figuring that if it was important, he would've remembered it easier. Then again, North and his shouting was completely and utterly distracting.

"Uh, I'm going to head out again, okay?" Jack said nervously, standing up again.

"So soon?" North looked kind of sad. "I was hoping you could give me some more suggestions..."

"I'll let you come up with the rest." Jack stated. "See you later, North." He left the workshop and violently shook his head. Holy crow, he almost hated every moment of that. Jack had never been interrogated like that before in his life.

Jack took to the air and flew south, heading back home to Burgess. He was halfway there when he remembered the reason he had gone to North in the first place.

"Oh no... Jamie..." Jack groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. There was no sense in going back now. Besides, North was too focused on his New Year's party to pay much attention to the winter spirit's problems.

Jack swooped down to land on Jamie's roof. He hung upside down, trying to see through the window. After a few minutes, it became apparent that Jamie wasn't there. Sighing, Jack stood back up again and flew away on the wind. He'd check the hill first and then, well... He'd figure that out later.

As Jack approached the hill, his eyes narrowed at the sight of two figures. One looked suspiciously like...

"Tooth?" Jack flew towards the figures, recognizing Jamie after he got closer. Jamie turned and saw him, his eyes meeting Jack's for a moment before he turned back to Tooth.

Jack landed heavily and looked between Jamie and Tooth.

"I was looking for you." Tooth stated. "Where have you been?"

"North held me hostage for a little while." Jack stated. He then turned his attention to Jamie. "Hey, Jamie." He knelt down to meet him at eye level. "I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean it, really. I don't hate you."

Jamie bowed his head and sniffed. "I'm sorry too..." He stated. "I made you feel bad."

Jack smiled. "Don't worry about it, kiddo." He messed up the boy's hair.

Jamie grinned up at him. "But all the snow melted. Can you bring it back?"

"Consider it done." Jack laughed.

Jamie's grin widened. "WOO HOO!" He cheered.

Jack laughed and high fived him. "All right, I'll get right to work. Expect snow as early as tomorrow, as late as the day after tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Jamie cried. "I can't wait!"

Jack laughed and flew into the air, disappearing from view.

Tooth, left alone with Jamie looked down at the boy. "Well, that solves that." She said with a smile. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, what was it that you teased him about?"

"Oh nothing too bad." Jamie said with a grin. "He said he knew you, so I asked if he liked you!"

Tooth flushed bright red. "Did you now? And what did he say to that?"

Jamie laughed. "He turned blue and I sang the tree song!"

"And what's that?" Tooth asked, completely baffled.

Jamie grinned mischievously, the expression so close to Jack's that for a moment, Tooth was slightly unnerved. Then he turned and skipped away, suddenly belting out:

"Jack and the Tooth Fairy, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Tooth's face went tomato red. She didn't even know how to react to that. Jamie did. He turned and saw her red face and immediately burst out laughing. Annoyed, Tooth grabbed a handful of what remained of the snow and shoved it in the kids face. It didn't stop him from laughing. He just threw a small, half melted snowball right back.

And meanwhile, Tooth smiled to herself, dodging snowballs that were thrown in her direction. Jamie was a good kid. She could see why Jack spent so much time around him.

"I have to get back to work now, Jamie!" Tooth called, dodging another snowball. "I'll see you later!"

"Okay!" Jamie cried. "See you later, Tooth Fairy!"

Tooth waved and whizzed off into the sky, disappearing before Jamie could get another shot in.


	11. Chapter 11: White Christmas

Summer of Frost

Chapter 11: White Christmas

Christmas came into the world with several snowstorms and a few mishaps (he accidently over did it in southern Ontario), but Jack Frost was satisfied. He'd brought a white Christmas wherever it was possible. Burgess especially. Except he took care to give nice snow to Burgess, not dropping a blizzard like he did on England.

Jack found himself humming Christmas music as he sat on Jamie's roof, faintly listening to the sounds of thrilled cries as children opened their presents that morning. He smiled to himself, thinking that maybe he'd make something for Tooth. She liked his ice sculptures, so he'd make her one. But what would he make? A giant tooth? No, too unoriginal.

"Ugh!" Jack cried, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Why didn't I think about this earlier?"

"Think about what, Jack?"

Jamie was staring at him from the ground below, bundled up in snow gear and carrying his toboggan.

Jack flew down from the roof and landed in front of him. "I only _just_ remembered it was Christmas." He stated.

Jamie burst out laughing. "Really?"

Jack nodded. "Well, I knew it was Christmas, but I didn't get any gifts for any of my friends."

"Guess you're always busy, huh?"

"Yeah. I was too focused on bringing winter."

Jamie grinned. "Well that's all I wanted from you for Christmas! Lots and lots of snow!"

Jack laughed. "You're a good kid." He messed up his hair. "Going to get your friends so we can go sledding?"

"Yeah!" Jamie cried. "But first... wait here! I'll be right by the window!" He ditched his sled and ran back inside the house. Jack faintly heard the amused laugh from his mom as he flew up to the window.

"Okay!" Jamie gasped, pushing open his window, his face slightly flushed. "I have something for you! I made it!"

"Okay..."

"Close your eyes!"

Jack did as he was told.

"Now hold out your hands!"

Jack did so and felt something thin and papery being pressed into his hand.

"Okay! You can open your eyes again!"

Jack opened his eyes and focused on the thing in his hands.

It was a Christmas card, a very messy, poorly drawn one, but it was a card all the same. It had a picture of Jamie on it and standing right beside him was Jack, and he was making it snow.

"Oh wow, Jamie! Thanks!" Jack said, opening it to read the inscription.

_Merry Christmas, Jack!_ It said.

Jamie grinned. "You like it?"

"I love it! Thanks so much!" He pulled the boy into a hug.

"Jack! You're freezing!" Jamie cried, shoving him away, laughing hysterically.

"Oh yeah? Well you better get bundled up before I start nippin' at your nose!"

Jamie shrieked as Jack pinched his nose. He ran into the house and slammed the window shut. Jamie was still laughing when he emerged once again and picked up his sled.

Jack and Jamie rushed to the top of the hill where they would sled for however long they would. Jack iced the hill so Jamie would go faster and created a ramp or two for his own entertainment. Jamie laughed and pretty soon, he was shuddering and covered in snow. But despite the fact that he was cold, Jamie was unfazed and still wanted nothing more than to keep having fun.

"Hey Jamie!" Jack called, approaching the boy. "I forgot! I _do_ have a gift for you!"

Jamie grinned. "Cool! What is it?"

"I'll give it to you, but you gotta close your eyes first..."

Jamie closed his eyes.

"Now hold out your hands..."

Jamie held out his hands.

And Jack decked him in the face with a snowball.

"HEY!" Jamie cried, shrieking with laughter as blue sparkles danced in front of his eyes. He threw a snowball right back at Jack. It was a free for all between the Spirit of Winter, and Jamie Bennett. Jack loved every moment, and he even let Jamie get a few shots on him.

Until Jamie hit him hard in the chest.

"Oh! I've been hit!" Jack cried, collapsing to his knees. "Go on without me, soldier!" He clapped a hand to his chest, Jamie laughing hysterically. "Save...yourself..." He fell face first into the snow and lay still.

"No! Jack! Come back!" Jamie flipped him over and pounded on his chest in mock CPR. "You have to live! YOU HAVE TO LIVE!"

Jack continued to lay still, his tongue sticking out.

"You have a wife and kids to go home to! Get up, Jack!" Jamie laughed.

Jack opened his eyes and grinned. "Blleearrrrgh, I'm a snow zombie! Run little Jamie, run!" He made jerky motions, grabbing for Jamie's face.

Jamie shrieked with laugher again and ran for it, Jack standing up and chasing him through the snow. Eventually, Jamie tripped and Jack pulled him to his feet, pretending to eat him while the boy continued to laugh. Jamie shoved a handful of snow in Jack's face and wriggled away. Jack stood there, wiping the snow off his face, laughing as Jamie grinned back at him.

Then the boy shivered.

"Maybe it's about time you got back inside." Jack said.

"Aww, but I want to stay out with you!" Jamie pouted.

"Your lips are turning blue." Jack stated. "Go inside and drink some hot chocolate for me, all right?"

Jamie grinned but nodded. "Okay! I guess you can't do that, huh?"

"Nope. I would probably get really sick from it."

"Because it's hot? And you're Jack Frost?"

"Exactly."

"So I can have your share?" Jamie cried.

"Sure you can!"

"WOO!" Jamie leapt in the air and grabbed his toboggan, sliding down the hill to get to the bottom faster. Jack flew after him, racing him back towards the house. The two laughed and threw snowballs at each other until they finally arrived.

"When will I see you again?" Jamie asked, grinning.

"Tomorrow maybe? It depends on where I am and what I'm doing. In the end, I'll always come back to Burgess." Jack said.

Jamie cheered again. "Okay! So I'll see you tomorrow!"

"You can almost count on it." Jack grabbed Jamie's nose again.

"Ow! Stop pinching my nose!" Jamie laughed.

"Well then run, Jamie! Run from Jack Frost!" He reached for his nose again.

Jamie slapped his hand away and raced into the house, laughing. Jack smiled and waved goodbye before flying into the sky once again.

...

Left alone, Jack sat in a tree by the lake that was the first thing he ever remembered since becoming Jack Frost. He always seemed to come back here. It made him feel calm, and ironically, safe. He contemplated what to do for Tooth, holding a large chunk of ice in his hand. Sighing, he ran his fingers across it, asking the frozen liquid for inspiration. He pictured her in his mind, wondering just what she would like. Jack knew she liked teeth, but that was just too unoriginal. It would make a gag gift if anything. No, he wanted to give her something she'd like and treasure forevermore...

He thought long and hard about making a rose out of ice. But he thought that was just too much. He loved her, yes he did, but he didn't exactly want her to know per se. Maybe he could make a replica of the tooth cases she put the teeth in. But what would she use it for?

Jack groaned, his head smacking against the tree trunk. He was at a loss. He shoved the piece of ice into the pocket of his hoodie next to his tooth case and Jamie's card and stood up. He had nothing. No ideas, nothing to show how much he cared about Tooth except a rectangular block of ice. He thought he might as well pay her a visit, but at the same time he didn't want to receive a gift from her and have nothing to give in return...

Jack pulled out the ice block again and stared heavily at it. Then he closed his eyes and ran his hand across it, picturing the object in his mind. The ice melted, shined and sparkled into the shape of a brilliant ice rose. Jack stared at it, his eyes widening slightly. It was the best sculpture he'd ever made. The petals were thin, smooth and beautiful. Jack knew that it would never melt because of the magic he'd put into it. Nor would it ever break. Or wilt.

Jack stuck the rose into his pocket, hiding it from view. Maybe he'd give it to her. If she had a gift for him, he'd give it to her. Maybe.

Jack leapt off the tree and flew into the sky, heading for the Tooth Palace.

...

Tooth hummed cheerily, a jingle bell hanging from her wrist. She liked the way they sounded. She'd give them to her mini fairies as well, but she figured that they'd wake the kids up.

Tooth checked off names as teeth rushed back, smiling as several more boxes were completed.

"Hey, Tooth!"

As if her day could get any better.

"Jack!" Tooth cried, handing her clipboard off and flying down to him. "Hey! How are you doing?"

"I'm all right." Jack stated, running a hand through his hair. "A little tired. I was working hard all night to bring snow."

Tooth laughed. "I know. Some of my fairies came back from England covered in snow."

"Sorry about that..." Jack snickered. The vision of several mini fairies covered in ice and snow amused him to no end.

"Did North tell you about his new idea for the New Year's party?" Tooth asked.

"Yeah. The Guardian theme?"

Tooth nodded. "He's so excited this year! I wouldn't be surprised if he's already decked the halls at his house!"

"Probably." Jack said with a grin.

"I haven't decided on my decorations yet though..." Tooth sighed. "I guess the most I could do is have some of my mini fairies flying around... but the teeth have priority..." She sighed heavily. "I don't know, Jack. What would you do?"

"Tooth lights?" Jack asked, shrugging. "Candies shaped like teeth?"

Tooth sighed. "I thought about that... But I don't know how to make candy..." She looked up at him with sad, lilac eyes. "I guess you'll have it easier than I do. All you'd have to do is make it snow and you're fine."

Jack nodded. "Yeah."

"It's hard, because I don't have a holiday. People don't celebrate teeth."

"People don't celebrate winter either."

"No, but people know how to represent it."

Jack ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe we're thinking too much about it. What if instead of representing teeth, we represent you." Jack stated. "Like maybe give out feathered hats, or something."

Tooth nodded slowly. "Yeah...we could..."

Jack scratched his chin, considering all of the things Tooth could do for the New Year's party. He couldn't come up with anything, making him feel completely horrible.

"Don't worry about it, Jack." Tooth said, smiling slightly. "I'll think of something. And if I don't, I don't mind tooth decorations..."

"Tooth, you and I both know that you're more than just teeth." Jack stated, crossing his arms.

"How so?" Tooth asked, feeling a little confused.

Jack's face flushed blue. "Well it's true." Jack stated. "Just because you're the tooth fairy doesn't mean you're _just_ the tooth fairy."

Tooth blinked in confusion, watching as Jack's face continued to turn blue.

"What I meant was that there's a person besides the one that collects teeth." Jack stated, running a hand through his hair.

Tooth giggled at the look on his face before setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Jack. That makes me feel better. Maybe I can find something for the party."

Jack nodded, his face still blue. "I...hope so."

Tooth smiled. "I have to get back to work now, so I'll see you later."

He nodded again and watch as Tooth flew off into the air to retrieve her clipboard.

"Merry Christmas, by the way!" Jack called after her.

"To you as well!"

Jack grinned and waved back before heading out the doors and flying into the air. His hand instinctively went to the ice rose in his pocket. He hadn't given it to her even though it had been on his mind the entire time he'd been talking to Tooth.

...

Jack decided to pay a visit to North as the sun began to set over North America. Jack guessed that by now, North had finished his Christmas rounds and was relaxing in his home.

How very wrong he was.

Jack stepped into North's house and was immediately bombarded by decorations. Confused, Jack pushed his way past yetis and elves who were putting up decorations of nearly every kind. Jack checked North's workshop and found it locked up. Confused, Jack continued to trudge his way through the house, looking for the large Russian man.

"No no! Over there! Over there!" A voice cried. Jack recognized it as North's immediately. He walked towards it and found himself at a set of large open doors. Jack grinned widely and looked inside, seeing all sorts of decorations going up.

_This must be where the party is going to be_, Jack thought to himself, stepping inside.

"A little to the left...That's great! Right there!"

"I think it's a little crooked." Jack stated, leaning on his staff, grinning over North's shoulder.

"You're absolutely right, Jack. Tilt it to the-HEY!"

Jack burst out laughing seeing North's face flush a brilliant shade of tomato red.

"You're not supposed to be here until New Year's!" He cried. "Now I'll have to rearrange all of the decorations!"

"Don't bother." Jack said with a laugh. "You don't look like you're even close to being done."

North nodded with a sigh. "Well, what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to stop by and say Merry Christmas."

"Well thank you! People don't usually think I need a Merry Christmas simply because I'm...well I'm Santa!" He chuckled. "It's nice to hear it all the same."

"I'm sure it is." Jack stated. "Just like it would be nice if people asked if I was enjoying the winter or something."

North laughed. "Well, then are you enjoying the winter?"

"I am actually."

"That's good!" North suddenly turned stern. "And now, I have to banish you until New Year's."

"Aww!" Jack mock pouted. "But I was just getting comfortable!"

North laughed. "You'll be back soon enough!"

"I know. Okay, I'll see you later, North. Good luck with the decorations!"

"Thank you! And watch out for the mistletoe on the way out!"

Jack immediately looked straight up at an empty ceiling.

North burst out laughing. "I was just joking, Jack!"

"Oh ha ha..." Jack rolled his eyes.

"But really, watch out for the mistletoe." North said seriously.

"Well thanks for the warning then." Jack said, turning and heading out of the house. Though he knew North had just been kidding, it didn't stop him from looking up, just in case.

...

Jack was back at Jamie's house the next day. As they walked to the top of the hill where Jamie's friends were waiting, the boy was telling Jack about everything that had happened on Christmas.

"I asked mom if she could make you some hot chocolate too, but she said no, saying that you didn't drink hot chocolate because you would melt. Is that true?"

"Most likely." Jack said with a laugh. "I told you that yesterday, didn't I?"

Jamie nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't get to have your share of hot chocolate." He sulked slightly.

"That's all right." Jack said, grabbing Jamie's nose again, making the kid squeal and laugh.

"Jamie! Hurry up!" His friend yelled from the top of the hill, carrying a brand new toboggan.

"Coming!" Jamie cried, running up the hill after them. Jack watched from the side, seeing them slide and spin out and crash into each other. None of them even looked at him. He'd noticed this last winter. Once they really started to have fun, Jack became invisible once more. He could leave right now, and they'd continue sledding down that hill until it was time to go home. Jamie would notice his absence when the games were over, but the other children wouldn't. That hurt Jack a little bit, but he was glad that most children in the world these days knew he was around, even if someday they too would forget about him. As much as Jack tried to accept this fact, he couldn't. He hoped that in the future when Jamie grew up, he would still remember Jack, and they'd still be best friends. He hoped, he hoped, he hoped...

"Hey! Jack!" Jamie called out, running over. "I'm having a New Year's sleep over at my house! You should come!"

Jack smiled at the boy. "I would, Jamie, but I've already been invited to one."

"Oh..." Jamie looked disappointed. "Is it another kids party?"

Jack shook his head. "No. It's Santa's party."

"Oh cool!" Jamie jumped in the air a few times. "Can I go? Maybe? Pleeeease?"

"I don't think so, Jamie." Jack said, smiling. "But I'll tell you what: if I can, I'll smuggle some snacks over for you, okay?"

"WOO HOO!" Jamie leapt into the air. "That would be so awesome! Like Santa cookies, and Tooth Fairy cakes?"

"Pretty much," Jack laughed.

"I CAN'T WAIT!" Jamie cheered.

Jack laughed. "Going to continue playing with your friends?"

"Yeah," Jamie said grinning. "Watch and see how fast I go!" He ran back towards his sled and shot down the hill. Jack laughed and watched him climb again.

"Bet I can make you go faster!" Jack called.

Jamie's eyes lit up. "Do it!"

Jack iced the hill as Jamie slid down. The boy screamed in delight as Jack flew alongside him. They shot through the field and over several hills before Jack finally brought them to a stop.

And Jamie lay there, laughing himself into hysterics. Jack couldn't stop smiling.


	12. Chapter 12: New Year's Eve

**A/N: And here we are! The part I was looking forward to posting for a long time now! I hope you enjoy reading it!**

**BTW, this is the final stretch of the story :) I'm afriad after this chapter there is only one more, followed by the epilogue... I hope you will enjoy what remains! ^^**

Summer of Frost

Chapter 12: New Year's Eve

Jack arrived at the Tooth Palace early that day, smiling brightly. Tooth grinned back at him, seeing the excitement in his eyes. She knew he'd been looking forward to New Year's ever since he was invited to North's party. Tooth was happy for him. It was his first one after all.

"Excited?" Tooth asked, watching the boy fidgeting.

Jack nodded. "Excited. Nervous. The whole shebang."

Tooth laughed. "You'll have fun."

"Don't I always?" He grinned broadly. Then the smile softened. "It just... It feels good to be accepted." He stated.

Tooth rested a hand on his shoulder. "You spent a lot of time alone, didn't you?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. A really long time." He sighed with contentment. "It's nice to finally be seen."

Tooth smiled warmly at him, happy that he was opening up to her. He trusted her, and that made her feel happy.

"So, shall we get going?" Jack asked, grinning broadly.

Tooth nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

Jack led her out of the palace, glancing back with bright, sparkling blue eyes. It was ironic, the way they made her feel warm on the inside, considering their shade of blue and the fact that they eyes belonged to Jack Frost. To her surprise, he held out his hand. Tooth took it with a smile, and they flew off into the sky.

Tooth couldn't hold back the giddy feeling that bounced around inside her. She felt ridiculously happy, just as she had been since two days ago when Jack had showed up at the palace, blue blush covering his face when he asked if they could go to the New Year's party together. Tooth had agreed of course, and that was why they were going there now, flying towards the North Pole hand in hand.

As always, his fingers were cool and smooth. She loved his hands. She'd always had, ever since the day she felt them caressing her cheek after she'd broken down over the summer. His thumb ran gently over the back of her hand, nearly making her shiver. It couldn't mean anything, obviously, but a part of her deep down wished with all her heart that it did.

...

As Jack and Tooth approached North's house, their fingers slid apart. They did this to avoid any awkward questions that may or may not come from them arriving with entwined fingers. Jack mourned the loss of her warm, feathery hand, but he didn't dwell on it. Who knows? Maybe he'd get the chance to hold her hand again soon enough.

Jack pushed open the door to North's house and held it open for Tooth.

"You're a gentleman." Tooth said, grinning.

"I know." Jack said, adding to the tease. "It's one of my many charms." He winked.

Tooth burst out laughing, a rosy blush spreading across her cheeks. "Jack! Don't do that!"

"Sorry, Glitterbells, I just couldn't help it."

"Excuse me? 'Glitterbells'?" She punched him in the arm as they headed down the hall.

"Don't like it?" Jack asked, still grinning. "How about Sparkleshine then?"

"Is _that_ what you think of me?!"

Jack laughed. "Yes."

She punched him in the arm again. This time, he visibly winced.

"Okay, okay, jokes over." Jack said, rubbing his arm.

Tooth rolled her eyes and smiled at Jack. "Just to let you know, I wasn't actually offended."

"Well you did know I was joking." Jack eyed the ceiling carefully, remembering North's warning about mistletoe the last time he was here.

"I did."

"And when someone tells a joke, you're not supposed to take them seriously."

"I know that."

"So therefore, getting offended when someone tells a joke-"

"Although sometimes the jokes aren't funny, Jack." Tooth smiled. "But you don't have to worry about that."

Jack nodded, thinking back to the time Jamie sang the 'sittin' in a tree' song. He'd been upset, even if Jamie had been joking.

Jack and Tooth arrived at the door to the giant ballroom. The white haired boy pushed it open and held it for Tooth.

"After you, milady."

Tooth rolled her eyes and swatted him in the head as she buzzed by. Jack grinned and stepped into the room, his jaw dropping instantly.

Garlands of holly hung from the ceilings, and golden sand fell onto the marble floor below. It faded away just before it hit the ground or anything else in the room, but there was a constant shower of it that never seemed to end. The tablecloths and chairs burned brightly in shades of green, blue and yellow, a clear tribute to Tooth herself. There were baskets filled with Easter Eggs at every table, reminding Jack a little of Christmas crackers. And for him, his tribute, was the frost and ice that caked the walls, adding to the splendour. The whole room tied together effortlessly and looked completely stunning.

"There he is! Jack Frost!"

Jack looked up at the familiar voice and grinned, seeing North approaching, flanked by a dark skinned boy wearing a red t-shirt and khaki shorts. For a moment, Jack stared at the boy, wondering why he looked so familiar before turning back to North.

"The room looks great, North." Jack said with a grin.

"I'm glad you like it!" North laughed. "Although there's still some room for flooding if you wish." He added in a whisper.

Jack's grin widened. "Watch out, North. I might just take up on that offer."

"Hello, Jack Frost." The boy said, his dark lips smiling. Jack had seen people with the dark brown skin colour before, but he'd never seen another spirit like that.

"Hi. Do I know you?" Jack asked.

"You should." The boy said, laughing. "My name's Nick Summers. I'm the Spirit of Summer."

"Oh." Jack frowned. "I didn't even know there was a Spirit of Summer."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Luckily for me though, lots of kids in Africa can see me." Nick smiled.

North nodded, realizing the two of them were getting along and walked away. Jack watched him leave and shrugged.

"You need to use a staff?" Nick asked, staring at the curved stick in his hand.

"Well, not exactly. It's sort of a conduit for my power." Jack stated, running a hand through his hair. "It's what lets me amplify my power to make it easier to use."

"Fair enough!" Nick grinned. "I have one too, I just don't use it as much."

"Guess the Spirit of Summer doesn't need to bring things, huh?"

Nick shook his head. "I mostly just walk into an area, and boom. Summer."

"Oh really? I have to bring wind, ice and snow." Jack stated.

"Sounds hard."

"Nah. It's more fun than anything."

"Let's stop blocking the doors, okay?" Nick said, grinning as he walked away from the door. Jack followed him, realizing he too was barefoot.

"I've never been to Africa." Jack stated, staring at the frost covered walls. "What's it like?"

"Depends on what area you're in." Nick stated, leaning against the wall, causing the frost to melt slightly. Jack nearly laughed. "North Africa is mostly desert, but the middle area is arid savannah."

"And it's hot."

"Very." Nick laughed. "It's hard for me to get up here every year actually."

"Really?"

Nick nodded. "North usually picks me up so I don't have to travel here. I'd probably melt all of the ice caps if I even put one foot outside.

"Yeah don't. They're my pride and joy."

"You made them?"

"No. But I protect them."

"Oh. All right then." Nick ran a hand through his black hair. Jack noticed for the first time that it was tied back in a small ponytail at the base of his neck. "Have you been to Antarctica?"

"It's my third home."

"Third?"

"Burgess is my home. This place is my second home. Antarctica is where I go when there's nowhere else to go."

Nick nodded, as if this was an acceptable answer. "Fair enough." Then he frowned. "Why Burgess?"

"It's where I lived before I became a Spirit." Jack stated.

"Ha, mine was a little village in Zimbabwe."

"Guess we all had a home, huh?"

Nick nodded. "I go back there a lot. I feel comfortable there."

"Yeah. I hear you." Jack nodded. He turned his head, his eyes widening slightly as he realized how many people were now here. "Wow!" He cried. "Is that really all of the spirits?"

"Not all of them." Nick said. "There are some who have never shown up here because they're relatively minor spirits. Yuki-Onna is one of the few who actually come."

"Yuki-Onna?" Jack asked.

"Snow Woman." Nick pointed. "That's her in the snowflake kimono. She's from Japan. Don't even try speaking to her. It's not worth it."

Jack laughed. "Why not?"

"She doesn't speak English very well." He paused. "Actually she doesn't speak it at all."

Jack laughed harder. His eyes darted to the door as it opened again. A smile flitted across his features as Tooth walked into the room. He'd best go say hello.

"Ah, she's finally here..." Nick began fixing his hair and clothes, staring intently at Tooth.

Jack frowned, glancing from Nick to Tooth and back again. "Uh, Tooth?"

"No, Nature. Mother Nature." He grinned.

"Uh huh..." Jack glanced back at Tooth who was standing by the punch bowl, getting a drink.

"I'm going to talk to her..." Nick said taking a deep breath. "Wish me luck."

Jack frowned. "Wait..." He stared at Tooth, frowning in confusion. Something was very, very off.

Nick was watching him curiously, looking very, very confused.

Jack turned his head and saw a second Tooth hovering beside Bunnymund, chattering animatedly with him. He turned his head back towards the Tooth by the punch bowl and saw a very still version of Tooth. She wasn't even flying...

"Um, I don't think that's Tooth..."

"In the corner?"

"Yes."

Nick's eyes widened very slowly. "Aw shoot, I fell for it again..." He stared disappointingly at Tooth in the corner. "That's the third year in a row... At least I didn't embarrass myself this time..." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Why? Who is that?" Jack asked.

"Ugh, Cupid." Nick rolled his eyes. "He looks different for everybody. If they're in love with somebody, Cupid appears as that person. If they're not, he just appears as whatever the person finds most attractive."

"_Oh_."

"Yeah. 'Oh' is right." Nick rolled his eyes. Then a crooked grin crossed his features. "So Tooth, huh?"

"Mother Nature, huh?"

If Nick had paler skin, Jack was sure he'd be blushing.

"Don't worry." Jack said. "I won't tell."

"Ditto. Although I don't see what you like about Tooth."

"Don't ask. I couldn't tell you if I tried."

"Ah, can't pin the lady down with words?"

"Nope."

"Ha, I know what that's like."

The door opened again and a young girl walked in, her green streaked brown hair streaming behind her. She was walking beside an elderly man wearing yellow.

"Ah, there she is. The real her." Nick said. "Hope you don't mind..."

"Go for it." Jack said with a grin.

Nick smiled meekly and headed into the crowd to say hello to the girl he loved. Jack chuckled to himself, glancing over at Tooth who was still talking to Bunnymund.

...

Tooth had to be careful. She'd seen Cupid walk in the door. She recognized him instantly just from the thoughts that rushed through her mind. Up until this year, he'd appeared as a boy she knew back from when she was human. She knew he was long gone of course, but over the years, she'd learned to recognize the 'Cupid Complex' as many of the spirits called it. If you see the person you love, and you are instantly overcome with the urge to go talk to them, don't do it. It's probably Cupid. And the thing about Cupid was that he wasn't afraid to sell you out in front of everyone. He saw it as doing his job in spreading love. Everyone else thought it was him being a complete asshole.

This year, it took everything Tooth had to stay beside Bunnymund as the biggest Cupid Complex she'd ever felt rushed through her. She wanted to throw her arms around the white haired boy and feel him do the same. But of course, the Jack Frost she was seeing was nothing more than Cupid. An illusion.

"I'm going to take a guess and say Cupid changed for you this year." Bunnymund said, rolling his eyes.

"N-No, n-never mind." Tooth shook her head, turning back to Bunnymund. "Anyway, where were we?"

"Hey, Tooth. Hey, Bunny."

"Hey brat."

Tooth turned to see Jack approaching them. He stopped right beside them. Tooth went stiff, not knowing if it was Cupid or it was actually Jack.

"Jeez, thanks for the welcome, Bunny." Jack grinned, rolling his eyes. He turned his eyes onto Tooth who still looked like she was about to faint.

"You okay, Tooth?" Jack asked.

"Uh huh..." She bit her lip. "I'm okay."

Bunnymund raised his eyebrow. "I don't know what's got you freaked out all of a sudden, Tooth. It's just Jack."

"Oh! Of course! Silly me! Ha ha ha!" She twiddled her thumbs sheepishly, turning slightly to glance over her shoulder to find Cupid. Her heart raced slightly when she couldn't find him.

"Oh no..." Bunny groaned, sliding down the wall.

Tooth glanced back at Bunnymund, frowning.

"Hello you three. Nice day, no?"

"Rack off, Lover Boy." Bunny growled.

Jack and Tooth skittered away from the voice, staring at the person who was standing right beside them. Jack felt like he was going to have a heart attack. Tooth felt about ready to faint.

"Hello, Jack. We've never met before." Cupid said to him, smiling slightly.

"No, and I wish we hadn't..." Jack stated, biting his lip.

"Oh dear, you poor soul. Who is it? Who do you see?"

"None of your business, whacker!"

"Easy, Bunny. I wasn't talking to you."

Bunnymund fumed.

Cupid turned his eyes back on Jack. "Now, why don't we settle this?"

Jack shook his head.

Tooth, seeing his discomfort, flew in front of him. "Leave him alone. If he wanted your help, he'd ask!"

"Toothiana, how wonderful." His eyes, the same shade of blue as the boy's behind her, darkened. "You haven't changed a bit. I told you to talk to me again when you lost your feathers and learned to walk."

Jack's jaw dropped.

"If I had my way, I wouldn't be talking to you right now!" Tooth growled.

"But of _course_ you feel the need to stand up for your ally..." Cupid sighed. "That doesn't change anything."

Tooth's feathers fluffed in anger.

"No matter who it is you see, he will never, _ever_ love you." He smiled harshly. "After all, who could love a human-bird hybrid?"

Tooth's lower lip trembled as she held back a sob. He'd spoken in Jack's voice with Jack's appearance. It hurt beyond belief, even though she knew it wasn't actually him.

Bunnymund moved towards Cupid but Jack got there first.

"Considering you're the Spirit of Love, you sure have a lot of hate!" Jack snarled, pointing his staff at his face. He watched as Cupid's violet eyes widened slightly, a cruel grin crossing his features.

"Did I touch a nerve, Jack?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I won't let you insult my friend like that!"

"Jack, not a good idea..." Bunnymund said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "This whacker's not worth it."

Jack shrugged off Bunny's hand and continued staring Cupid down.

"Why don't you tell us, Jack?" Cupid grinned. "When you look at me, who do you see?"

Jack suddenly noticed how quiet the room had gotten. Every eye was on them, several people with their mouths half open. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see several people shaking their heads, their eyes wide with horror.

"I see the most beautiful girl in the world." Jack stated. "Not even, seeing as you're nothing but an echo of the real thing. The real thing is better than what you can mimic."

"Ha! Name's Jack! Better out than in." He grinned. "After all, there's nothing more painful than unrequited love."

"Go to hell."

"In that case, I'll help you."

Jack frowned in confusion. A second later, a golden blur shot towards him. A sharp pain stabbed into his chest, making him gasp.

"JACK!" The voice was distant and hollow. All Jack could see was the golden arrow sticking from his chest. It faded away, and his heart began to pound heavily, drumming in his ears.

Jack dropped his staff, trembling slightly as a feeling of bliss rushed into his mind. A smile crept up onto his face as he saw Tooth flitting through his mind. Yes, he had to tell her. He had to tell her everything and hold her and kiss her until-

A golden ball of sand smacked Jack in the side of the head. He crumpled to the ground without a sound as golden dolphins danced above his head.

"Great timing, Sandy." North said to the golden man.

Sandy nodded, a picture of a thumbs up popping over his head. He'd literally just shown up at the party.

"I'll take him to his room." Bunnymund said, lifting the unconscious boy off the ground. "At least then he'll be safe from himself."

North nodded, turning to Cupid as Bunny carried him out of the ballroom. "As for you, I thought I told you no more arrows."

Cupid shrugged, a wry grin on his face. "My dear North, if you could've felt how much his heart was aching for his love, you would've done the same thing."

Tooth slapped him heavily across the face. "Don't you _ever_ lay a hand on him again!"

Cupid rolled his eyes and walked away, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he did so.

Tooth continued to fume long after he'd gone.


	13. Chapter 13: A New Beginning

**STOP YELLING AT ME! FAN FICTION GLITCHED AND THAT'S WHY YOU GOT NO CHAPTER.**

Summer of Frost

Chapter 13: A New Beginning

Bunnymund was unnerved. He tried to tune out Jack's love struck ramblings, but that was difficult. Especially since he knew _exactly_ who he was talking about.

For the first half hour, Jack had slept peacefully, a small smile on his face as dolphins continued dancing above his head. Then, he woke up. Bunny had watched him sit there, a stupid smile on his face as his eyes glazed over and he stared into space. He occasionally sighed heavily, like a pre-teen girl watching a pathetic romance movie.

When he'd started talking, Bunny had tuned it out. He kept going on about how beautiful she was and how bright her eyes were and whatnot. Bunnymund continuously rolled his eyes and merely grunted when Jack asked him a question.

But as soon as he'd mentioned colourful feathers, Bunnymund almost smashed his own head against the wall. Because after that statement, it was quite obvious who Jack was in love with. It was Tooth. He was head over heels for Tooth. Bunnymund didn't know much about Cupid and his arrows, but one thing he did know was that the severity of the reaction depended on how in love the person was. Jack had lost all sanity. There was nothing left of the cheerful, mischievous boy who brought winter. All that was left was a grinning, stupid, love struck boy who couldn't function properly. He wanted to go find Sandy and get him to knock Jack out again, but he couldn't leave the boy alone. Hell knows what he'd get up to if he did. Judging by the way he was now pacing the room, mumbling plans of how to tell Tooth how he felt, Bunnymund guessed he'd rush straight out of the room and confess his love, complete with sonnet, in front of every spirit in the ballroom.

Bunnymund didn't hate Jack enough to let him do that.

"Bunny!" Jack cried, that sick grin on his face. "I have to tell her!"

"No you don't, Jack." Bunnymund stated. "Trust me, this is a very bad time for it."

Jack's face twisted into a grimace of annoyance. "Fine." He sat on his bed. "I'll tell her somehow."

Bunny rolled his eyes, watching Jack pull out a piece of paper and start writing on it, mumbling under his breath. God. He was writing a poem. That boy needed to be knocked out again. Bunnymund ran his finger over his boomerang, contemplating whether it would be worth it or not. As much fun as it would be, he didn't want to hurt Jack unless it was really necessary.

...

It had been three hours since Jack had been hit by Cupid's arrow. Tooth's anxiety hadn't gone down one bit. She'd talked to other spirits to distract herself, but she couldn't stop shaking the second she was alone.

Tooth knew what Cupid's arrows did to people. Around seven years ago, Lantern, the shape-shifting spirit of Halloween, had taken Cupid's arrow just as Jack had. Except he didn't have someone to knock him out and isolate him.

Lantern had been in love with Dove, the spirit of peace. When he regained his sanity, Lantern had been so distraught at what had happened that he spent the rest of his days isolating himself. Even Dove didn't know where he went. She was here now, actually, her eyes filled with sadness as she occasionally glanced at Tooth, as if wondering if the same thing would happen to Jack.

Sighing heavily, Tooth found herself sitting in the corner, staring out at the spirits laughing and talking and having fun. She couldn't though. Her eyes kept finding Cupid who was standing against the wall, smiling slightly and sipping punch. Tooth wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp, even if he did look like Jack Frost.

The minutes passed by. Tooth guessed another hour or so had passed. She couldn't stand sitting around anymore so she stood up, her wings humming to life behind her as she flew towards the doors. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, but she couldn't help it. Besides, she wasn't going to physically see Jack. She just had to know if he was okay.

Tooth flew silently down the hall, her heart racing with nerves. As she rounded the corner, she faintly heard the sound of Jack and Bunny yelling at each other.

"LET ME OUT, BUNNY! I HAVE TO!"

"NO JACK! STAY HERE!"

Tooth hovered in the air, listening to their scrapping. A moment later, there was a crashing sound as Jack's bedroom door burst open. The white haired boy stumbled as he came through the door and he immediately fell on his face. Bunnymund's wide eyes locked on Tooth immediately.

"Of all the bloody-".

Jack looked up, his blue eyes lighting up with wonder as his face split into a smile.

"Tooth!" He cried, getting to his feet.

There was a sharp crack and Jack fell back onto the floor without a sound. Bunnymund caught his boomerang with a sigh.

"Sorry mate. Had to." He stated.

"B-Bunny, how is he?" Tooth asked, staring down at his unconscious form.

"Get back in the ballroom, Tooth!" Bunnymund yelled, picking Jack up again. "Don't come looking for him again!" He kicked the door shut, leaving Tooth alone in the hallway.

...

Jack moaned as he began to regain consciousness. His head was pounding with one of the worst headaches he'd ever had.

"You up again, mate?"

"Bunny?" Jack turned his head to the side, sitting up slightly. "Ugh, what happened?"

"Does that mean you're sane again?"

"Sane?" Jack grabbed a bit of snow from his bed and pressed it into the goose egg on the back of his head.

"You got hit by Cupid's arrow, mate."

Jack's eyes widened as the memories rushed back. The bliss, the fantasies, the happiness he'd felt...

"Oh no..." Jack cried. "What did I say, Bunny?"

"Nothing she heard, Jack. Don't worry."

"You know?!"

Bunnymund nodded.

Jack groaned, slamming his head into his snow pillow. "Kill me now, Bunny..."

"I won't tell anyone, mate." Bunnymund stated. "And if it makes you feel any better, she still doesn't know."

Jack mumbled something incoherent. Now that the bliss was gone, all he felt was emptiness and heartache. After all of that, and he was back where he started. Not even. Bunnymund now knew his secret.

"Luckily for you, mate, Sandy knocked you out before you could say or do anything stupid."

Jack sighed heavily. "I'm guessing Cupid's done that before?"

"Oh yeah. Broke so many hearts, he has. The most recent one was seven years ago with the spirit of Halloween. The bloke hasn't been seen since."

"That's horrible..."

Bunnymund nodded. "So luckily for you, we got you out of there before you could do anything stupid."

"But she saw me..." Jack whispered.

"As I said, you didn't do anything stupid."

Jack's eyes found the poem on his bed. He stared at it, his eyes widening in horror. "Did I honestly write this?"

"Saw you do it, mate. You were going to read it to her."

Jack groaned again, pressing his hands into his face. "I'm going to kill Cupid..."

"Can I help? I'm sure many spirits want to see him gone."

Jack took a deep breath and stood up. He grabbed the poem, ripped it to confetti sized pieces, and threw it out the window into the arctic winds. The pieces scattered, gone forever. Jack would've liked to burn them, but he didn't want to get close to a fire.

"Okay." Jack said, taking another breath and letting it out. "I'm ready."

"First thing that comes to mind."

"Snow."

"Second thing that comes to mind."

"Ice."

"Third?"

"Fun."

"Fourth?"

"Kill Cupid."

"Fifth?"

"Shut up, Bunny!"

"Atta boy." Bunnymund laughed. "You're sane again."

Jack chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it, mate." He tossed Jack's staff towards him. "And no hard feelings about the flowers, all right?"

Jack smiled. "They grew back?"

Bunnymund nodded. "You're welcome to come back next summer." Then he smiled. "Or are you going to keep helping Tooth out?"

"You know about that?"

"North told me."

Jack nodded. "Fair enough." He twirled his staff. Then his eyes gleamed. "Hey Bunny?"

"Hm?"

Jack grinned. "Help me flood the ballroom floor."

"Welcome back, mate." Bunnymund laughed.

"It's good to be back." Jack smirked.

...

Tooth was standing with Dove in the corner when it happened. She heard a startled yelp and watched as several people darted out of the way as a flood of water rushed from the door. It fell down the stairs in a gentle waterfall, the metal edges of the carpets preventing it from leaking into the fabric. It rushed across the floor and began forming a puddle across the dance floor. North took notice and burst out laughing. As the water filled all of the corners of the dance floor, the water flow ended. A second later, the water froze, trailing ice down the stairs and straight into the middle of the dance floor, turning it into a solid gleaming mass of white.

And then the doors open, Jack stepping into the room, a bright grin on his face.

"Surprise!" He cried. "I'm back!"

Bunnymund clapped him on the shoulder, tossing the end of the hose away. Where he'd gotten it was a mystery, but Jack suspected he'd brought it all the way from the Warren through his tunnels.

Jack stepped over the ice, grinning as people stared at him with wide eyes. North continued to laugh, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Well done, Jack." He said with a smile.

Jack grinned back. "Thanks. Want me to make it snow too?"

There were a few hoots of agreement so Jack shrugged and pointed his staff at the ceiling. A beam of blue light rushed from the tip and spread right across the ceiling. Moments later, large, fluffy flakes began falling from the ceiling, disappearing as they met objects in the room. Jack could see Nick grinning up at them, watching them fall with a smile on his face. He had his arms crossed so he wouldn't try to touch any of them.

Jack turned to see Tooth standing with a relatively cute girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. He grinned and approached them.

"Hello." Jack said. "Miss me?"

Tooth laughed. "Me? Miss you? Not a chance!"

Jack grinned, turning his gaze towards the girl. "Hello, I'm Jack Frost."

The girl blushed slightly. "I'm Dove."

"Nice to meet you."

Dove nodded, still blushing.

And as the snow continued to fall from the ceiling, Jack couldn't help but smile

...

As the night wore on, Tooth saw Jack slip silently out of the ballroom. She glanced at the party for a moment before following him out of the room. It had to be getting close to midnight by now.

Tooth tried to be as silent as possible as she followed Jack through North's house. He climbed several flights of stairs. Tooth followed until they arrived on the third floor. Jack sat calmly in a window, staring out at the blowing snow, twirling an ice rose in his hand.

Tooth tried to ignore it. "Jack?"

He jumped as if startled. "Tooth. I didn't notice you followed me."

Tooth smiled. "May I join you?"

"Sure." Jack said, shrugging. He stuck the rose into his pocket, putting it out of sight.

Tooth hovered over and sat beside him, staring out at the winter world outside. He was quiet, his blue eyes distant.

"Jack?"

"Hm?" He turned towards her, looking almost startled.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just thinking. That's all."

"About what?"

Jack took a deep breath and sighed heavily. She watched his fingers go to his pocket where the ice rose was as he glanced back out the window, chewing his lip slightly.

Tooth had given up on getting an answer when he spoke.

"I was thinking about Cupid's arrow." Jack stated.

"Oh."

Jack sighed again. "Looking back on it, I realized how strange it felt." He stated. "To think of only one thing for an extended period of time." He ran a hand through his hair. "It leaves you feeling very empty afterwards."

Tooth smiled slightly, twiddling her thumbs nervously. "I didn't get a chance to thank you."

"For what?" Jack asked.

"For standing up for me." She smiled softly at him. "It was really sweet of you."

"I wasn't about to let him insult you like that." Jack growled. "I just wasn't."

"I know, but you really didn't have to..."

"I did have to, Tooth!" Jack cried, his gaze intense. "Because what he said wasn't true!"

_Who could love a human-bird hybrid?_

"Jack..." Tooth whispered. "Do you even know what he...I..." She trailed off. "You couldn't know, Jack."

"No, maybe I don't know everything he said to you." Jack stated. "But half of it wasn't true."

"Jack..." Tooth felt herself tearing up.

Jack pressed his hand against the window, sighing heavily as the frost slid across the glass. It blocked the snow from view, replacing it with floral patterns of ice. His forehead tapped the glass softly as his hand curled into a fist.

"I don't even know what I'm saying anymore..." Jack whispered.

"Well, is it Cupid talking, or is you talking?"

"I think it's me." Jack stated.

Tooth nodded, her eyes staring at the floor. "You said half of it wasn't true... What do you mean by that?"

"Who do you see when you look at Cupid, Tooth?" Jack asked, not looking at her.

_You_, Tooth wanted to say. But she couldn't do it.

"The most wonderful person in the world." She whispered.

Jack nodded.

"And who do you see?"

Jack closed his eyes, as if thinking about what to say next. Tooth held her breath, watching him sigh softly against the window.

"I already said who I saw." Jack stated, his eyes opening again. "I see the most beautiful girl the world. The sad part is, she doesn't realize it."

"H-Huh?"

Jack's hand relaxed against the ice, the frost spreading across the already frozen glass and creating intricate patterns in the window. Tooth watched, trembling slightly.

"She's as bright as the moon, but as warm as the sun." He murmured. "She cares, she's..." He swiped his hand across the ice, destroying a large patch in fury. "Impossible to pin down with words!" He stood up and paced across the room furiously.

"Jack..." Tooth stood up, approaching him nervously.

He turned, bright blue eyes meeting hers. Tooth froze as a little bit of snow fell from the ceiling. Was it an accident? Or did Jack do it on purpose?

Jack stood there, staring into her eyes, trembling for a moment.

"I see you, Tooth."

Tooth froze. "W-What?"

Jack didn't say it again, his face serious.

"J-Jack, n-no..." She was so startled, so frightened to find out that Jack actually thought she was... Her eyes widened slightly.

"The most beautiful person in the world, Tooth, is you."

Tooth felt hot tears streaming down her face. Nobody had ever, _ever_ called her beautiful before. Children sometimes called her pretty when they saw her, but nobody _ever_ called her beautiful.

"Tooth..." Jack stepped towards her, using his cool hands to wipe the tears from her face. When she pressed her teary eyes into her hands and whimpered softly, Jack pulled her into his arms and gently ran his hand down her feathers. She shivered, her wings fluttering slightly at his touch.

She wiped the tears from her face and forced herself to look up at Jack. "You...You really think that?"

Jack nodded, smiling warmly. "You're beautiful, Tooth."

"You don't mind the feathers?" She giggled.

"Nah. They're part of what makes you beautiful." He ran his hand through the feathers on top of her head, making her shiver.

"Am I making you cold?"

"No, I like it, I..." She blushed a violent shade of pink. "It's nice."

"What, the cold?" Jack asked.

"Well that too."

"Oh." Jack said, smiling as he understood, running his fingers over her feathers again. She shivered again.

"Jack?" She looked up at him, her cheeks still pink.

"Hm?"

"I see you."

"Huh?" He blinked in confusion.

"I see you." Tooth said, bowing her head. "When I see Cupid."

For a moment, Jack was still. A second later, his staff clattered to the floor as he pulled her close. Tooth closed her eyes, burying herself in Jack's arctic body, breathing in the cool, minty scent that clung to his clothes. His hands slid across her feathers, making her shiver. She never wanted it to end...

But it did. She looked up at him, smiling timidly. Then she caught sight of something above their heads. She narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to bring it into focus. Jack saw this and looked up, instantly spotting the green plant tied to the ceiling with a red ribbon.

Tooth burst into a fit of giggles, watching Jack's face slowly shift from white to pale blue.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Tooth asked, feeling her cheeks grow very warm.

Jack turned back towards her, the blue flush still on his cheeks. "North said he was joking..."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Tooth turned her gaze back up to the plant hovering above their heads. Jack began to unwrap his arms from around her, leaning away from it.

"Jack."

He turned back towards her, beginning to return to his natural white colour.

"Smile?"

Jack chuckled and grinned at her. Then his eyes darted back up to the plant. He sighed in defeat, his hands reaching up to take her face between them. Half a second later, ice cold lips met hers. Tooth gasped and held back a whimper. He was so cold...

Tooth slid her arms around his neck and slid her fingers into his soft, fluffy hair. She kissed him back, her wings fluttering as Jack softly ran his thumbs across his cheeks.

She was so warm. Jack couldn't get enough of it. He never wanted it to end. Their lips parted for a moment, but Tooth pressed hers against his once more. Jack held her tighter, feeling her hands running through his hair.

When their lips parted again, neither wanted to speak out of fear of ruining what had just happened. Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other, their cheeks flushed slightly.

"I love you." Jack whispered.

"I love you too."

He smiled slightly, reaching into his pocket. "I...meant to give this to you on Christmas. I didn't end up doing it."

It was the ice rose. She'd seen it from a distance, but up close, it was something else.

"Jack! It's beautiful!" She cried, taking the rose.

"Not as beautiful as you."

Tooth blushed a violent shade of red, taking his hand with a grin.

And their lips met once more as Sandy's golden fireworks shot into the sky outside, announcing the start of the New Year.


	14. Epilogue: Memories

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to post the epilogue... I have an excuse, but it's not a good one XDD**

**Basically I finally managed to drag myself away from Minecraft to post this for you guys XDD so enjoy it :D This is the last chapter, and the penultimate fairyfrost fan fic I'm going to finish :) (for awhile at least...)**

Summer of Frost

Epilogue: Memories

"Jack!" Tooth cried, whizzing through the Tooth Palace, grinning with triumph. It was summer once more, and Jack was back to helping Tooth with her work. As she flew into the library, she saw the white haired boy scolding a mini fairy for something. Tooth didn't bother asking.

"Jack!"

Jack turned and grinned broadly. "Hey! What's up?"

"I got it open." Tooth stated.

The smile was gone a second later. "You did?"

Tooth nodded. "It's upstairs. You don't have to if you don't want to..."

"No, I do..." Jack took a breath and sighed. "Okay, let's go." He propped his staff onto his shoulder and headed for the stairs. Tooth followed him, leaving the fairies to their own devices.

Tooth buzzed ahead of him, pushing the door to her bedroom open. The gleaming golden tooth case lay open on the sheets.

"Lily," Jack murmured, staring down at the pearly white teeth. They were her memories. It was a completed box, telling him that his sister had at least grown up.

"Jack, I just want to warn you." Tooth said softly, placing her hand on his. "You might not like what you see."

"Have you seen the memories?" Jack asked.

Tooth shook her head. "No. I'm just warning you. This could either make you feel better, or it could make you feel worse. Also..."

Jack looked at her, waiting for her to finish her warnings.

"The memories inside the teeth will only go up to the last tooth she lost. If she'd already lost all of her teeth by the time you fell in the lake, then you won't get much more than what you already know."

Jack nodded slowly, his mind going over the few memories he knew of. "I don't think she'd lost all her teeth by then. I think she still had a few more to go."

"Then hopefully you'll see what you want to see."

Jack nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay." He stared down at the teeth for a few seconds. He'd asked Tooth to open his sister's tooth box in autumn of last year. She'd only just gotten it open. He had to know what had happened to his sister. He had to know...

"I'm going." Jack stated.

Tooth nodded. "I'll be here."

Jack smiled and gently touched her face. "You always are." Then he reached out for the teeth, the room filled with a brilliant flash of light as the memories rushed into Jack's head.

...

_The wind was howling. It shrieked through cracks in the walls and rattled the windows. I was scared. I kept glancing at the door, knowing Mama and Papa were out._

_Then the crashing sound._

_I screamed, drawing the attention of a boy who was reading in the corner._

"_It's just thunder, Lily." The boy said._

"_It's scary!" I wailed, shaking like mad._

_The boy turned towards me, his tired brown eyes meeting mine. They gazed at me steadily for a few seconds before they softened._

"_All right, come here." He said, holding out his arm._

_I ran over to him, wrapping my arms tightly around him and climbing into his lap. Jack wrapped his arm around me and allowed me to curl up against his chest. He quickly returned to his book which was filled with much bigger words than I was used to reading. He was ten years old, after all._

"_Can you tell me a story?" I asked timidly._

_Jack sighed heavily and looked down at me, his face looking as if he'd rather do anything but._

_Then he closed the book and set it on the table in front of him._

"_Go pick one then."_

"_I've read all of my books!" I whined. "Can you _tell_ me a story?"_

_Jack seemed to ponder this for a moment. Thunder crashed overhead again, making me shudder. He put his arm around me and stared at the rain soaked window for a moment._

"_What kind of story do you want to hear?" Jack asked._

"_How about one with a fairy?" I asked, grinning broadly._

_Jack smiled. "All right, I'll tell you a story about a very special fairy. But you have to promise not to be scared of this storm, okay?"_

_I nodded, trying not to flinch as thunder rumbled once more._

"_Okay." Jack's eyes glanced at the ceiling as he thought about how to begin his story. He returned his gaze to me. "Once upon a time, there was a fairy named..." he scratched his chin for a moment. "Gee, what should our fairy's name be?"_

"_Jack!" I called out, naming the fairy after my brother._

_He laughed. "Okay, there was a fairy named Jack. And he wasn't an ordinary fairy at all, no. For Jack collected something very, very precious." He paused for dramatic effect. _

_I leaned in closer. "What?"_

"_He collected teeth." Jack said, smiling._

_I felt disappointment wash through me. "Teeth?"_

"_Yes, teeth." Jack told me. "Every child around the world loses teeth, and then they grow bigger ones when the smaller ones fall out. See? I lost teeth." Jack showed off some gaps in his teeth where new ones were slowly poking through his gums. "And Jack was known as the Tooth Fairy, because he collected children's teeth."_

"_What does the Tooth Fairy do with the teeth?" I asked._

"_He collects them. Well technically, _she_ does."_

"_The Tooth Fairy is a girl?"_

"_Well yeah."_

"_Then why is her name Jack?"_

"_Because you said so, and that's how it shall be." Jack said, grinning._

"_So you're the Tooth Fairy!" I laughed. "You're a _girl_!"_

_Jack laughed and poked his finger into her mouth. "Yes Lily! I'm going to steal your teeth!"_

_I squealed and leapt off his lap as Jack chased me around the house. _

_When the storm finally died down, Jack put me to bed and stayed beside me until I fell asleep._

_..._

"_Hey! Lily! Come on!" Jack cried, grinning toothlessly. "It's Easter! And you know what that means, right?"_

_I yawned, wishing Jack had let me sleep for once. Just because he was six years older than me didn't mean he could just wake me up whenever he wanted._

"_Easter eggs, Lily! Come on! Hurry up!" Jack tossed a basket at her and ran from the room. I crawled from bed and headed downstairs, seeing Jack, currently eleven years old, bouncing happily, wanting nothing more than to go outside and look for eggs._

"_Come on, Mom! We gotta go before the good ones are taken!" Jack cried, pacing the room._

"_Jack, relax, you can't have fun all the time." Mom said, sighing._

_Jack huffed a cute pout on his face. I giggled. "Jack and I can go, Mummy!" I said, hugging my brothers leg._

_The boy grinned. "Yeah! I'll take good care of her, and we won't get lost! And we'll come back with soooo many eggs, right Lil?"_

_I laughed and nodded._

_Mama sighed, running a hand down her face and slipping on her shoes. "All right, all right. Let's go."_

_Jack and I cheered with delight and rushed from the house. As always, Jack didn't bother with his shoes. I never understood how he could walk across the hard ground barefooted, but I never asked. I put on my own shoes as Jack began digging through bushes, looking for eggs._

_Mama waited for us by the house, watching as we searched every nook and cranny, trying to find the few eggs that were hidden. We found some, but for Jack, it wasn't enough._

"_I'm going to climb that tree!" Jack stated, setting down his basket. "There's gotta be some eggs up there!" _

"_Jackson Overland Frost, if you climb that tree, you're grounded for the week!"_

_Jack sighed in disappointment and let go of the branches. "Guess that's it then, huh?"_

"_At least we got a few, right?" I said cheerily._

"_There would've been more if we'd been out earlier..." He sulked into the house where he sat down and stayed quiet for the rest of the day._

_..._

_I was seven when Jack first took me to meet his friends. It was summer, so it was insanely warm and mosquitoes bit at my exposed skin. I didn't care though. I was just happy to be with my brother._

_There were a few girls his age in the group, one of which in particular he seemed to always be talking to, his cheeks flushed pale pink. I didn't like her. She stole all of my brother's attention, and I didn't like that. _

_We stopped by a pond where several boys threw in a fishing line, trying to catch something. I watched them for a few minutes and when nothing interesting happened, I returned to my brother, who was still talking to that girl. I grabbed his hand and giving it a sharp tug._

"_Jack! Let's play a game!" I cooed._

_Jack looked really upset at that moment, but his face softened as he smiled. "All right, what do you want to play?"_

_I pouted, not knowing what we could play out here in the woods._

"_Play hide and seek so you can ditch her for a few hours." The girl beside him stated._

_Jack had no response to that. Instead, he smiled. "Let's play tag, all right?"_

_The girl rolled her eyes with a huff._

"_Okay!" I cried, then I sharply poked him in the knee. "YOU'RE IT!"_

"_Oh no!" Jack cried, standing up. "I'm it!"_

_I laughed as he chased me around the lake, slowing his speed when I was it so I could tag him easily and not trying too hard to catch me when he was. He always played fair, and I loved that about him. Eventually, we got tired and we collapsed against a tree. He messed up my hair, making me grin._

_Then the girl stole all of his attention away again._

_After about five minutes, the boys who were fishing gave up and approached Jack._

"_Hey, Jack! Want to see who can climb the highest?" One of them asked, pointing at a sturdy maple._

"_Sure." Jack said, standing up._

_Each of the boys took turns leaping at the tree and trying to reach the lowest branch to no avail. Then Jack did it easily, latching onto the branch and hanging upside down with a grin on his face._

_The sight of it terrified me._

"_Jack! Get down from there!" I cried._

"_It's all right, Lily!" Jack said, hanging by his knees. "See? I'm safe!"_

"_Please get down!" I cried, tears running down my face. "Please?"_

_Jack's eyes softened in sympathy and he quickly jumped down from the tree, pulling me into a hug._

"_Okay, I won't climb trees anymore." He promised._

_I smiled up at him as he wiped the tears from my cheeks._

"_God, Jack, your sister is such a killjoy!"_

"_Yeah don't bring her along next time!"_

_Jack looked very irritated. "Well then maybe there won't ever _be_ a next time." He growled. Then he smiled down at me again. "Come on. Let's go home, okay?"_

_I nodded and held his hand as he led me home._

_..._

_It was my birthday, and I was turning ten. It was the middle of winter, and the ground was caked in fluffy white snow. It was a perfect birthday except for one thing:_

_Jack was out._

_He'd been gone for three days with Papa on a hunting trip. He'd promised he'd be back in time for my birthday, but he still hadn't come back. I was getting very worried about him._

_When the sun began to set, I started to cry._

"_It's all right, dear." Mama told me, gently stroking my hair as I cried into her lap. "He'll come back."_

"_H-He promised! He did! He should've been back by now!"_

"_They'll come, darling. Don't worry." She hummed me a lullaby that always calmed me down, still stroking my hair. Eventually, I stopped crying, but I really missed my brother._

_And then, the door opened._

"_JACK!" I cried, standing up and running towards my brother who was bundled up in furs. I threw my arms around him as he laughed, picking me up and holding me tightly._

"_Hey Lily, how's your birthday been?" He asked, his brown eyes sparkling._

"_I missed you so much!" I cried, kissing him on the cheek._

_Jack laughed, setting me on the ground and messing up my hair. "Wait till you see what I got for you."_

_I bounced on my toes eagerly as Jack stripped off his furs one by one and set them on the stool. The last one he pulled off was a cloak Mama had made for him for his sixteenth birthday earlier that year. Jack claimed it was so warm, he didn't need to wear anything else in the winter._

"_I thought you said your cloak was warm!" I laughed, staring at the pile of furs._

"_Hey, you gotta carry them home somehow." Jack stated. "And I was sweating with all of those things!" He laughed._

_I bounced on my toes again. "What's my present?"_

_Jack knelt down in front of me and smiled. Then he reached into his pocket and removed a palm sized carving of a deer._

"_Oh wow!" I cried, taking it. "It's so pretty!" Then I looked up at him, frowning in sadness. "But, where's its antlers?"_

"_That's the thing, Lil!" Jack cried. "This deer was so huge! So big, and its antlers so large that I couldn't possibly manage to fit them on the carving!"_

"_Oh..." She bowed her head._

"_So when I turned the deer into a carving, I kept the antlers!" Jack reached into a bag and pulled out a set of deer antlers. He put them on his head and began prancing around the room as I shrieked with laughter._

"_You're funny Jack!" I laughed._

_And for the rest of the night, my brother never left my side, telling me stories about some of the things he'd seen._

_..._

_I trotted out the door, grinning broadly as I glanced back at Jack. My new ice skates bounced against my back. They were my latest birthday present. Jack had given them to me when I turned eleven, promising to teach me how to skate when the ice froze over._

"_Be careful!" Mom said, smiling brightly._

_Jack grinned back at her. "We will." He promised._

_I skipped ahead of him as we headed towards the lake. I'd never been so excited in my life. Jack had to call out for me, telling me to slow down while caught up. He was barefoot again. He must've been cold, but he wasn't complaining._

_Jack helped me put on my skates before he led me out onto the ice, not putting his on like he probably should've. He guided me around the ice using a long stick with a hook on the end he found in the bush, and when I thought I'd gotten the hang of it, he let me skate alone. He headed back to the side of the lake to pick his skates up while I slid across the ice, smiling and giggling. _

Crunch!

_I gasped and looked down. I heard another sound and saw cracks forming in the ice beneath my skates._

"_JACK!" I cried._

_The boy looked up in surprise, his skate half on as he stood not too far away from me. His eyes darted from my terrified face to the ice at my feet. I watched his face turn white as he pulled off his skate and met my eyes._

"_Jack," I whimpered. "I'm scared..."_

"_It's okay, you're going to be okay." Jack said, holding out his hands, forcing a smile onto his face._

"_You're lying!" I cried, feeling my eyes burning as the ice continued to crack. "You're always tricking me and lying!"_

_Jack's brown eyes darted to the ice once more. "Not this time! You just have to believe in me!"_

_I stared at him, my eyes wide._

"_You're going to be all right," he promised. "We're going to have a little fun instead! We'll play hopscotch! Like we play every day!"_

_I trembled slightly._

"_Look, see? One..." he took a big step, heading for the long stick he'd used to pull me around. "Two..." He slipped slightly, over dramatizing it a bit so I giggled. "Three!" He turned towards me, grinning brightly, picking up the stick. "Now it's your turn, okay? One..."_

_I took a small step forward, whimpering as the ice continued to crack._

"_Two..." He held the stick out towards me. I reached for it, taking a bigger step._

"_THREE!" He hooked me with the end of it and threw me onto solid ice. I hit it hard, and it hurt really bad, but I knew, I was safe. I looked up and smiled, seeing Jack grinning at me. He laughed, seeing I was all right._

_There was a loud crack, and he was gone._

"_JACK!" I shrieked. I ripped off my skates and crawled towards the hole, not getting too close to it, out of fear that I too would fall in. "Jack! Jack please come up! Please! Don't joke about this! It's not funny, Jack, IT'S NOT FUNNY!"_

_My brother never came back up._

_I screamed and ran back to the house, tears streaming down my face. My family ran to the ice out of the slim hope that Jack would be there, shivering and dripping wet, but all right._

_Instead, they simply found that the ice hole had already begun to freeze over, and Jack was still missing._

_..._

_A year had passed since that day._

_When the ice had melted in spring, half of the village went to the lake to fish Jack's body out of the water. Countless people dove into it, but nobody recovered the body._

_And I had hope. Because if they couldn't find Jack, that meant that there was some way, somehow, though I wasn't sure how, my brother was still alive._

_Jack Frost was still in this world. I believed that with all of my heart._

_It was my twelfth birthday. My mother had a glazed look in her eye, the same as she'd had since Jack disappeared. She thought Jack was dead. I felt otherwise._

_I felt it in the cold winter wind when I left my house. I heard it in the snow as it crunched beneath my feet. I saw it when the snow fell from the sky, falling gently as it was now. Snow on my birthday. It was like the weather just...knew._

_I sat down by the lake my brother had died in a year ago. I smiled at the ice, seeing intricate designs spiralling beautifully across the frozen surface, as if someone had been there moments before, skating in tight circles, as if painting on the ice._

_And then, I looked up, feeling a cold blast of wind hit me in the face. My lips parted in surprise at the sight of a boy with white hair standing at the top of a tree, staring up at the sky. Even from a distance, I could tell. It was Jack. My face split into a grin and I ran towards the tree, staring up at him. I couldn't see his face, but I knew it was him. I just knew. He was holding the curved stick he'd used to save my life. He was wearing the same cloak. He was holding himself, standing straight up, his head high, his pony-like prancing gait so familiar, I felt tears streaming down my face._

_It was Jack! My brother was alive!_

_I tried to call out, but words failed me._

_And with a puff of snow and a cold blast of wind, the boy leapt into the air and flew away._

"_Good luck, Jack..." I whispered. "I love you..."_

_..._

Jack's eyes snapped open. He was lying on Tooth's bed, and she was right beside him, whispering his name.

"Jack?" She asked, realizing he was awake.

"Tooth..." Jack whispered, sitting up slowly, what he'd just seen playing through his head.

"What did you see?" She asked.

"She..." And then his eyes widened, a smile splitting across his features. "She saw me!"

"She what?"

"She saw me! After I transformed, she saw me!"

Tooth grinned. "She did?!"

Jack jumped to his feet, pacing the room excitedly, frost creeping across the carpet. He was unable to control his power in his joy.

"She knew I was alive!" Jack cried. "She knew! She knew! She knew!" He leapt into the air. "They never found my body, so she knew I was somehow alive! And _she saw me_ Tooth!" The smile softened, a tear running down his cheek. "She saw me..." He whispered.

Then Jack fell to his knees, tears freezing on his face. "She saw me..." Then he sobbed, crying uncontrollable tears of joy as Tooth flew over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Jack wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tightly, starting to laugh.

"She was okay!" He laughed as Tooth wiped the frozen tears of his face.

"I'm so happy for you, Jack!"

"I'm so..." He laughed again. "Thank you so much, Tooth! I... I'm so happy, I..." Then he pulled her close, his hug so tight Tooth could barely breathe. "Thank you..."

"You're welcome." She said, stroking his hair.

Jack laughed again and stood up, his smile so bright it lit up his whole being. An aura of happiness washed off the Guardian of Fun as his blue eyes twinkled. Tooth knew at that moment that Jack would never, ever lose his smile again.

"You look good when you smile." Tooth said for the umpteenth time.

"And you're beautiful even when you're not." Jack said, grinning. "But you're prettier when you do."

Tooth blushed, kissing Jack on the nose.

"Hey," Jack caught her chin with a gentle hand. "That's my job." He nipped softly at the end of her nose before moving to her lips, feeling her warm hands curling around his neck. He chuckled and broke the kiss, meeting her lilac gaze with his sparkling azure one.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to work?" He asked teasingly.

"I'm sure the fairies can handle themselves for a little longer," Tooth giggled.

"Fair enough." And he kissed her, feeling as if nothing, absolutely nothing could get him down again.


End file.
